


Old Evils and New Weaknesses

by Adm_Hawthorne



Series: For Henry [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-02
Updated: 2013-09-12
Packaged: 2017-12-07 07:45:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 59,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/746040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adm_Hawthorne/pseuds/Adm_Hawthorne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to "For Henry". Regina and Emma must save Henry from an old enemy while they work on their every changing and somewhat unsettling personal relationship. Established Swan Queen. This will make no sense to you if you don't read "For Henry" first.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Characters aren't mine. They belong to ABC, Disney, and other assorted entities of importance. I gain nothing from writing these stories but the fun of doing it. Please don't sue me.

"We have to find him," Emma said through gritted teeth as she paced the luxurious study of the mayor's mansion. "Which means you have to tell us  _exactly_  what happened between you and Ursula," she rolled her eyes despite herself. The situation verged on the ridiculous, but, then again, that seemed to be a constant state in her life these days. "Regina," she stopped pacing and stood directly in front of the older woman, "what do you mean we have two days?  _Two days?!_ "

"Yelling at me and preventing me from actually speaking will not hurry this process along, Sheriff," Regina replied an even, though tight, tone. Though she kept her eyes on the blonde, she could see in her periphery Mary Margaret and David bristle at her.

Emma's eyes blazed, and her hands landed on her hips in a decidedly angry motion. Taking in a few deep breaths, she started to reply a few times only to stop before the words left her mouth. Finally, she settled herself and said in a surprisingly calm voice, "You're right, and I'm sorry." A surprised grunt emanated from the sofa where her parents sat. She ignored it. Sitting on the arm of the chair in which Regina was perched, she asked in a cooler, though no less stressed voice, "What happened?"

"A very long time ago," the older woman answered, her words carefully chosen as she looked around to her small audience of the sheriff, her parents, Gold, and Belle, "Ursula and I entered into an agreement." She glanced to Gold, who only cocked in an eyebrow in interest. This was clearly a story he had not heard before. "At the time, Ursula was a well-known and much sought after mermaid in Triton's kingdom."

Standing, she made her way to the small cabinet where she stored her decanters, and she poured herself a generous helping of cider while she spoke. "At the same time, I was just starting to grab a strong hold over my own kingdom. Snow White was a fugitive," she didn't bother to look at the woman in question. Instead, she kept her eyes on the crystal glass in her hand. "My army was strong, my wealth was secured, and there were very few threats to my powerbase." She cocked an eyebrow in consideration. Her eyes left the glass to fall on Gold, who raised his in silent question.

"Rumpelstiltskin and I had come to an arrangement. I was his apprentice, and, while I learned from him, he would help to keep me informed of areas of trouble within my kingdom."

"That's how you always knew whenever I managed to get a group of rebels together," Mary Margaret interrupted in an irritated voice. "I always wondered how your men always seemed to know when and where we would be gathering."

"The key to a solid hold on one's power, dear, is to be one step ahead of your enemies," Regina answered with a sneer on her lips. "Which meant, of course, that I didn't trust Rumpelstiltskin any more than I trusted anyone else."

"You wound me, Regina," Gold said in a mocking tone.

"Only if I were able," she shot back without missing a beat. Rolling her eyes, she moved back to the chair and carefully sat down again, making sure not to disturb Emma, who was still perched on the arm. "Triton's kingdom was a weak spot for me. I knew I didn't have the resources to overtake it by force to ensure my hold on the land it bordered, and, if I am to be perfectly honest, I had no real desire to be Queen of the Sea. It was enough to be Queen where it mattered the most to me and my needs." The sheriff took the glass of cider from her grasp and drank a few gulps. She gave Emma a hard look, but continued on. "I reasoned the best course of action would be to make a treaty with Triton, but I've never been one to make treaties that were not 100% squarely on my terms."

"I wondered how you pulled that off," Gold said in an almost impressed tone.

"You know what's going on?" David asked, his tone less than surprised.

"Of course he does," Mary Margaret's voice was slightly exasperated, and she rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"No, he doesn't know," Regina cut back in, "but I'm sure by now he has a good idea." She reached up and plucked the crystal glass from Emma's hand. After taking another sip, she continued on. "Ursula came to me one night while I was enjoying the evening breeze coming from the ocean. There was a private beach at the base of my castle, and I often enjoyed the cool evening nights when the moon was full. I had taken to speaking with the mercreatures that frequented the waters by my preferred spot on the beach. Unlike those on land, the mercreatures were unconcerned with human politics, and they didn't care and didn't care know of my reputation on land." She smiled, and it was reminiscent of the Queen's smile from so long ago. "It was to my benefit, of course. I reasoned that, if I could gather enough information, I could find a way to work out what I wanted from Triton. That's when I learned about Ursula. After a few months of asking to meet her, she finally came to me one night."

Regina finished off the cider, and Emma took the glass back. While Regina continued her story, Emma walked across the room to refill the glass. "She was breathtaking and just as desirable as the creatures had told me she would be. What's more, she was hungry for both power and prestige. She was the perfect creature to mold into the next wife for Triton."

Emma returned to her spot and handed Regina the glass. "I trained her in the ways of royalty, and I showed her basic magic so that she would have an edge in gaining Triton's attention. In return, once she was married to Triton, she was to ensure the treaty that I wanted, and she was to make certain that my lands remained safe along the coastlines. It was a win-win for both of us. She became the queen she wanted to be, and I ensured my powerbase without having to rely on Rumple's assistance." Regina leaned back in her chair, clearly proud of herself.

"So what happened?" Belle tilted her head to the side in consideration. "Why is she so angry with you now?"

"She broke the treaty," Regina answered, eyes flashing with anger. "When they had their first child, Ariel, Triton decided his lands were not secure enough. He enlisted the help of the magic users of his kingdom, and they all attempted to destroy anything of mine they felt threatened his kingdom. That essentially encompassed all humans and most animals." Her face pinched with anger. "Even my horses." A growl escaped her throat. "Based on the magic being used, it was clear that Ursula was assisting instead of sticking to both our agreement and the treaty."

"Regina," Mary Margaret's face was pale with fear. "What did you do?"

"I destroyed ever mercreature within a 100 mile radius of my kingdom's coastlines, and I sent my best men to Triton's home." Regina's face twitched. "Ariel was as beautiful as her mother." Her tone was hard and cold. "I had plans to dispose of the child, but Triton himself paid me a visit. Once he found out what had transpired between me and his wife, he and I made our own agreement. He agreed to stay away from my kingdom, and, in return, I agreed to give him his child back under the condition that he do something about his wayward wife."

"Oh god," Mary Margaret breathed out in despair.

"He all too happily agreed. He shunned his wife, stripping her of her status and of her beauty, and he exiled her to the farthest place in his kingdom she could go, forbidding her to have any contact with their daughter. At the time," Regina tilted her head to the side, "I thought it was a fitting punishment."

"Wait a minute," Emma finally spoke. "You mean to tell me that  _you_ are the reason Ursula was a Sea Hag?"

"Well, not directly," Regina said with a shrug. "She brought it upon herself. Had she maintained our alliance, none of this would have ever happened."

"But," the blonde was stuttering as she tried to understand, "you're saying that Ursula was once Triton's  _wife_?"

"Is," the older woman corrected in a careless tone. "Technically, they never divorced. I'm not even sure royalty  _can_ divorce, actually."

"You've  _got_ to be kidding me," Emma said for the umpteenth time that day. Standing, she began to pace. "So, because you turned her into an ugly witch thing and exiled her so she couldn't see her daughter, she's taken Henry?"

"No," Regina shook her head slowly, eyes actually full of sympathy for Emma's confusion and anger. "She's angry with me because I'm the one who helped her daughter marry Prince Eric, and, what's more, I'm the one who took Ariel's heart to ensure control over the kingdom Prince Eric ruled. It was much easier to take their hearts and control that border than create another alliance, and, when Ursula finally learned of what was going on and came to try to stop it, it was simply convenient for me to send Ariel and Eric's army, led by them, to fight her."

For the first time in the long winded explanation they'd all been listening to, Regina looked genuinely ashamed and upset. "It was a death sentence for either Ursula or Ariel. I didn't really care which. I was busy fighting Snow White and her army. This little side business with Ursula was trivial to me. If Ariel died, I would quickly take over the kingdom. If Ursula died, it was one less annoyance I had to bother with."

Emma's voice was quiet. "The trap?"

Regina warily answered. "In what I understand was a rather violent battle, Ariel was killed by one of Ursula's spells. It had been meant for a guard, I think, but it missed its intended target. After she killed her daughter, she lost her wits. She was too dangerous to allow to roam freely."

"Which is where I come in." Gold said in a neutral tone. "The Queen, King Triton, and I created a little magical trap to keep Ursula from causing more mischief."

"Why not just kill her?" David frowned in confusion.

"King Triton was a sentimental fool," Regina answered. "He wanted to kill me for what had happened, but he couldn't prove a solid reason to blame me for any of the mess that resulted in his daughter's death or his wife's madness However, he still harbored feelings for Ursula, and he demanded we help him put her in a trap that would keep her occupied and out of the way until she finally died." She rolled her eyes. "However long that might be."

"And we did," Gold added. "For a price."

"Of course," Mary Margaret groaned. "What was it?"

"Triton ensured her Majesty's borders along the coastline." Gold smiled, "And, in return, her Majesty agreed to keep me informed of any deals she made with magical creatures should I not be directly involved."

"I wouldn't call it win-win," Regina said in an frustrated voice, "but it accomplished my needs so that I could focus on more important matters."

"Such as trying to kill me?" Mary Margaret asked in an angry tone.

"Among other things," Regina answered in the smooth, cool tone she had adopted for the day.

"She wants revenge." Emma huffed. "I can't say I blame her."

Regina sipped at her cider. "Thank you, dear."

"Come on," the blonde gave another huff, "no one here could blame her. We're all parents. Well," she glanced to Gold and Belle, "mostly. So what do we do?"

"She's likely taken young Henry underwater," Gold answered. "If she has, that means she's turned him via some sort of spell or enchantment into a mercreature. I agree with Regina. You likely have roughly two days in which to find him and bring him to the surface before he fully transforms. If that happens, it's very likely he'll be completely under the control of Ursula."

"Tit for tat," David offered by way of understanding.

"Yes," Regina answered with a nod of her head.

"So where do we start?" Emma stopped pacing. "How do we find him and get him back home?"

"We'll have to go to her," Regina answered smoothly as she stood to make her way to her books. "Gold, I presume you aren't here out of the goodness of your heart to assist us."

"You presume correctly," he said in a slightly amused voice.

"He's here because I asked him to help you," Belle offered. "Henry is an innocent in all of this, and it's the least we can do to help."

Regina turned around to look them. For a beat, she said nothing and then nodded her head. "Thank you," she whispered before turning back to her books and pulling out a very old and leather bound book. Walking to the middle of the room, she placed it on the coffee table and opened it to a page with words most in the room couldn't read and a picture of a mermaid and merman drawn along the edges around the words. "How difficult will this be to do?"

"Well, I've seen more difficult spells done by you," Gold said in a thoughtful tone, "And, with my help, it shouldn't be too hard." He ran his eyes over the page. "You'll want to be at full strength for this. I suggest you get some rest now while the others and I gather supplies." He turned to Emma. "I assume you're going as well."

The sheriff's chin rose. "Oh yeah."

"Then you two go get what rest you can, and we'll meet at the docks at 4:30 tomorrow morning." Looking to the Charmings, he added, "I'll need you two to help with this. It requires a double dose of true love, and, since we happen to have to sets here, it just works out."

"I want details," Mary Margaret said in a clipped tone. "I want to know exactly what you two are planning, how's it's going to be done, and…"

"And I shall tell you, while we're walking to my store to gather things." He stood and the others followed. "Try to get some sleep," he told the two women that were to remain behind. "Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day for the both of you."


	2. Chapter 2

Her steps were heavy as she weakly moved around the large master bathroom. She could feel the weight of her previous deeds pushing down on her and the current consequences squeezing her insides as she tried in vain to stop the worry and panic from building into something beyond her control.

She needed to be in control.

To show weakness, to show her fear, would be to give away a hand in favor of Ursula, and that was unacceptable. In order to save Henry, she needed to be the strong, cool, collected woman of the past. She needed to be the woman who focused a singular mindset and obtained what she wanted regardless of cost. Ursula would stop at nothing to get her revenge, and, in turn, Regina must stop at nothing to get her son back.

For the first time in anyone's lives, Regina  _needed_ to be the Evil Queen.

Staring at herself in her vanity's mirror, she looked over her face to check for any sign of stress. The mask she wore now was a familiar one born of years of hard won control and effort. It was not the face of the mayor or of the mother. It was the face of the villain, and, just as surely as she knew her own name, she knew that the villain never wins.

It's written somewhere in the stars that villains never have happy endings, and so it goes with her. She could accept that if it meant Henry was safe and Emma was there for him. Sacrifices were about to be made, and, in its own way, it made sense that the Evil Queen would be the one to finally end the cycle she, herself, had started.

Not Regina Mills, the woman.  
Not Regina Mills, mother of Henry Mills.  
Not Regina Mills, true love of Emma Swan.  
Not Mayor Mills, the political powerhouse.  
Not Regina Mills, daughter of Henry and Cora Mills.  
Not Regina Mills, fiancée of Daniel.  
Not Regina Mills, apprentice of Rumpelstiltskin.  
Not Queen Regina, wife of King Leopold.  
Not Queen Regina, stepmother of Snow White.

The Evil Queen, the cold hearted, malicious, deadly bringer of hardships and destroyer of lives, was who she would once again have to be if Henry was to be saved by sunset tomorrow.

Taking in a deep breath and running her hands along her sides to smooth out the wrinkles in her night gown, she gracefully turned around to open her bathroom door and slip into bed to attempt sleep. Rumple was correct. She was going to need all the rest she could get.

It wasn't until she had stepped out and begun the small walk to her bed that she noticed she wasn't alone.

"Ms. Swan, what are you doing here?" Her voice was hard.

Emma blinked. "Getting ready to go to sleep?"

"In  _my_ bed?" Regina scowled at the other woman.

"Really?  _Now_  it's  _your_ bed? What happened to this being  _'our'_  home? Or was that only a thing until you got tired of it?" With a scowl of her own and a roll of her eyes, Emma started to slip out of the bed.

The brunette watched her move for a moment, and she could literally feel the hurt and betrayal Emma was feeling. It burned in her chest, another weakness. Sighing, Regina decided honesty would most likely work better in their current situation. "I didn't expect you to want to share a bed with me."

The sheriff stopped moving and slowly sank back down onto her side of the bed. "Why not?"

"Well," Regina's voice held a note of impatience as if the answer ought to be perfectly clear, "you  _did_ just learn another gruesome detail in the running list of questionable things I've done in my past. I assumed you'd be too disgusted with me to want to share a bed with me."

Emma ran a hand over her face while she thought about her reply. Hard lines formed along her mouth and at her eyes, and it was clear she was in some kind of conflict. Finally, she answered with her own truth. "I won't lie. What you did was despicable. A lot of what you've done is, but, when I think about what I might have done at that point if I had been you, I can see why you did it. I'm not a royal. I don't really understand all of that kind of politics, but I can kind of see it, and," she glanced away, not able to keep eye contact, "I have a hard time  _not_ being with you."

Dark brown eyes narrowed in suspicious consideration. "What do you mean by that?"

"You can't tell me you don't feel it, too," Emma answered, her own voice showing a little annoyance. "It's like we're connected to each other with some kind of invisible wire, and, when we're not together, we want to be together. I'm  _drawn_ to you. Come on, you can't tell me you don't know what I'm talking about. It's… it's better when I'm with you." Her voice began to sound unsure as she asked, "Isn't it better when you're with me?"

Regina thought on what the younger woman was actually saying. What was better? The answer came quickly. Life in general. Sighing, she nodded. "It is, but are you certain it's wise to be by my side right now? The chances of you getting hurt are very high."

"I hurt more when I'm not, and this pull gets stronger all the time, this thing we have." Emma shrugged. "We can either fight it or we can use it. I figure we should use it because it feels pretty powerful, and we're going to need everything we've got if we're going to save Henry."

"And what is 'this thing' doing for us right now, besides making us feel what the other feels?" Tired and wary, Regina moved to her side of the bed and slipped down under the covers.

With an unsure hand, Emma reached out to touch the other woman on the arm. As soon as contact was made, both women released a sigh. "It gives us comfort." She leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on Regina's lips. "And it's a good way of reassuring each other that we do have someone who loves us."

"You were always loved, Emma," Regina replies in a much softer, quieter tone. "Never doubt your parents' love for you… or Henry's."

"I don't, but it's not the same, and you know it." Sliding down to wrap herself around the brunette's side, Emma nestled her head into the crook of Regina's neck while Regina wrapped an arm around her. "I know I'm probably about to learn a lot more than you ever wanted me to know about all the bad things you've done, but, Regina," she placed a kissed on the exposed skin nearest her mouth and felt a shiver run though the other woman, "it doesn't overpower what we have now and who you are now. I have faith in you and in us."

"And what if what we need is not who I am now?" Regina's voice was hoarse with conflicting emotions.

Emma's reply was jarring to the former queen. "Then teach me who  _she_  was so that I can be her knight when the time comes."

"Emma, I don't want that. I don't want you to be the Black Night to my Evil Queen. That's not who you are. It's not  _what_ you are." Regina shook her head in the negative, truly upset at the idea of the young woman darkening herself in such a way.

"Ok," Emma's voice was soft yet thoughtful, "then you be the Queen to my White Knight because, like it or not, we are compliments to each other, and we need to use it.  _Henry_  needs us to learn to use it."

Regina gave a thoughtful hum. "I didn't realize you were so perceptive and philosophical."

"I'm not. It must be you rubbing off on me," Emma shot back, some humor in her voice. "But, seriously Regina, which way is it going to be? We need a game plan."

The older woman snorted. "A united front?"

"Yeah, exactly, and you're the one between the two of us that knows what's going on. So, which way are we playing it?" Emma began to run her hand idly along Regina's waist, making random patterns while she waited for an answer.

Much to her annoyance, the sensation Emma was causing was a distraction to Regina, who moved to place her hand on top of the younger woman's to prevent it from moving. "Ticklish, Emma. Remember?" A grunt to indicate she was sorry was all Regina got in reply. "I don't know how to be the Good Queen. That was always Snow White's area of expertise."

"Well, you're in luck then because," Emma shifted to sit up, propping up on her free arm to look down at the brunette, "before I came here, I didn't know how to be anything but a thief, a liar, and a convicted felon."

A considerate look crossed Regina's face, and then she smirked. Somewhere between wicked and pleased, the look was all Queen. "Perhaps you were always my knight?"

"Possibly," the blonde answered as she leaned over to kiss the other woman again. "I look better in black anyway."

"Red," Regina replied when they resettled after a few kisses. "You look best in red."

"So do you," Emma countered. "Good night, my Queen."

Regina smiled despite herself. "Good night, my Knight."


	3. Chapter 3

"It's noon," Mary Margaret said in a frustrated voice. "How can you tell them to go to bed at noon when we only have 48 hours? Shouldn't we be moving as fast as we can to save Henry?"

"And we are," Gold answered in an even tone. Mumbling under his breath, he asked aloud, "I wonder if Regina had this much trouble talking the sheriff into going to bed this early in the day? Hmmm," he smirked while he continued to work on the potion before him, "probably not."

"Hey!" David started to reach out to push Gold only to stop himself at the last minute when he realized any disruption to the other man might result in messing up whatever it was he was working on. "That's my daughter you're talking about, and I don't like what you're implying."

"Come now, Mr. Nolan, you can't be  _that_ naive?" Gold glanced up from the various beakers, pots, and bowls sitting on the counter before him. "I'm assuming that you and Ms. Blanchard appreciate all the benefits of what true love has to offer. Why should your daughter and Regina do anything less?"

"Rumple," Belle tried to keep her eyes from rolling, "is now really the time for this?"

"It's  _always_ the time for this," Gold replied as he turned back to the potion he was making.

"Will you at least tell us what you're doing and what we need to do?" Mary Margaret crossed her arms as if she were holding herself together.

"The potion I'm making takes roughly ten hours to create. There are several stages in the process, and it requires two different samples of true love." He glanced down at the pages of the book he'd taken with him from the mayoral mansion. "Because, in magical terms, mercreatures, like unicorns, are considered innately good, we have to ensure that both Regina and your daughter are pure enough in intent to transform for the short time they'll have to fetch Henry. Ordinarily," he dropped something into a vial, and blue smoke rose up in a small cloud, "the intent itself would be enough in a situation such as this. However, because of Regina's previous," he cocked an eyebrow, "misdeeds and your daughter's physical, emotional, and magical connection to our former queen, the potion requires an extra shot of goodness to counteract anything that might prevent the potion from working properly."

"So what?" David scowled in thought. "Because Regina is the Evil Queen the potion is going to take longer and require more ingredients? Why don't Emma and I get Henry? Wouldn't that be quicker and easier?"

"The potion will take ten hours regardless of who uses it or the number of extra ingredients added." Gold's voice held a tiny hint of impatience. "The added ingredients are a precaution, not a cause to extend the creation process." He gave a quick glance up to the younger man. "And, though you may find this hard to believe, you are not equipped to handle Ursula. In fact, Regina isn't either, but, combined with Ms. Swan, their connected power should be enough."

Placing the beaker of liquid he had been working on over a burner, Gold stood up and turned a timer on. "Despite how much you may hate hearing it, what everyone needs right now is for Regina to be exactly the person none of you want her to be."

"And what about Emma?" Mary Margaret's voice was distressed, her mind whirling with what they were being told. "What will that do to Emma?"

Gold shrugged. "Nothing. Emma is who she is and, frankly, the same goes for Regina. It is the combination of the two of them working together as the people they are that will defeat Ursula. If they can manage to find their balance, then Henry is as good as saved."

David crossed his arms. "And if they don't?"

"Well, I'm sure seeing a darker version of your daughter or a better version of Regina will be an interesting experience for us all," Gold answered in a nonchalant tone. "But that's not what we should be concerning ourselves with right now. Right now, I need to extract a little of your true love. It will drain you, and you'll likely want to go home and rest afterwards. Once I've gotten a sample of yours, I'll go fetch one from Regina and the sheriff. When you feel the drain, you'll understand why they need to rest right now."

"All magic comes with a price," Belle intoned in a thoughtful manner.

"Exactly right, my dear, and, in this case, the price for extracting true love is exhaustion on the parts of the ones who have it to give." He held out his arm, a wand suddenly clutched in his hand. "Are you ready?"

Mary Margaret uncrossed her arms and stepped next to her husband. "This will work?"

"Of course it will." Gold began to make a motion with the hand holding the wand while he held a small, empty vial up with the other hand. "Now hold still. This will only hurt a little."

It took less than thirty seconds to extract what he needed, and the little vial filled with a deep, purple substance while Mary Margaret and David slumped against each other. Popping a cork onto the top of the vial, Gold asked in a cheery voice, "That wasn't so bad, now was it?"

"I feel like I was hit with a truck," David said in a very wary voice.

"I don't know if I'll be able to make it back home. I want to pass out right now," his wife added.

Belle moved beside them and began to usher them away from the table. "Why don't you two come lay down on the bed here in the back of the shop? I'll wake you up in a few hours to let you know how things are going."

Gold watched the group go with an approving eye. If there was one thing he could say for Belle, it was that her heart was one of the best he had ever known. Smiling, he left the shop to head to the mayor's mansion, empty vial and wand in hand.

* * *

"Wake up," Gold's voice was stern as he called out.

Emma grunted and snuggled down closer to Regina, whose eyes immediately snapped open. "Gold, what are you doing in our bedroom?"

He held the vial out. "I need something you have in order to move forward with the potion. Are you and the sheriff ready?"

The blonde let out a huff of air. Opening her eyes but not moving from where she was wrapped around the brunette in the bed, she asked in a sleepy voice, "Do we have to move?"

Regina glanced down. Her face was impassive, but Emma could feel the absolutely horrified and embarrassed emotions Regina was experiencing because Gold had caught them in an intimate, though not compromising, position.

His eyebrows rose in amusement. "No, I suppose not."

Emma let her eyes fall shut again, but, between Regina's emotions and the fact the older woman's body was stiff with embarrassment, the blonde lost all comfort she had. Pushing up, she rolled over to sit against the headboard, and she watched as Regina did the same, pulling the covers up with her and settling into what Emma was beginning to call Regina's 'Queen Mode'.

Lifting her chin, Regina finally made full eye contact with Gold. "How much time before the potion is ready?"

"About 9 hours," he replied easily. "That should be enough time for everyone to recover and you two to prepare for whatever you've decided on as a plan." He tilted his head in question. "What  _have_ you decided?"

"Once we've fully recovered," Regina's voice was smooth, but Emma could feel her anxiousness, "Ms. Swan and I will be taking a trip to my private stock of items."

"I see," Gold said in a careful voice. "And what will you be going there for this time?"

Regina gave a tiny, knowing smirk. "You'll see once we retrieve it."

"I'm sure Snow White will be thrilled to know what direction you're taking her daughter." Gold smiled. "I can't wait to see that reaction."

"I'm sitting right here," Emma broke in, "and I'll do whatever I have to do to save Henry. So, if you two are done talking around things thinking I'm not catching on, can we get this over with? I'll deal with how my parents handle my supposed turn to the Dark Side later, okay?"

Gold's eyes widen just a touch in honest surprise. "Well," he looked from the blonde to brunette.

"Yes, she continues to surprise me in pleasant and advantageous ways," Regina answered the unspoken comment and question, pride clear on her features and in her voice. "Shall we?"

Lifting his hand, Gold waved the wand and the small vial filled with a deep purple substance. Emma groaned, and Regina turned pale. "Get some rest," Gold said as he corked the vial. "We'll meet at my shop at, say, 3:30?"

"Yes," Regina answered in a strained voice, "that will be fine. I'm sure you can see yourself out."

The two women waited a few minutes after Gold had closed the door behind him before either spoke or even moved.

"What the hell?" Emma slumped a bit more where she sat. "Why do I feel like I was beaten with a sack of oranges?"

Regina gave a little chuckle at the phrase. "The price of the magic used. Shall we try to get some more rest?"

"Like we have a choice." The blonde slid down beneath the covers, laying on her side and facing the other woman. "Kiss?" One well manicured eyebrow rose in amusement. "I know. That's not my normal shtick, but give me some credit here. I'm exhausted."

Happily acquiescing to the request, Regina slid down and placed a kiss on the all too willing lips of the sheriff. For a very brief moment, she considered a request of her own, but when she opened her mouth to make it, her pride stepped in the way. "I… will you… sleep well, dear."

Disgruntled with herself and the almost show of weakness, Regina rolled over onto her side, facing away from the young woman sharing her bed. A quick moment later, she felt warm arms wrap around her as the sheriff's body came flush against her own.

"Of course I'll hold you," Emma whispered against her ear. "You don't have to ask."

Closing her eyes and relaxing into the embrace, Regina let out a hum of contentment. "Thank you."

Emma's arms tightened their hold. "None needed. Night."

"Good night, Emma."


	4. Chapter 4

"Emma," Regina's voice was gentle but persistent. "Emma, wake up."

The young woman groaned and rolled over, pulling the covers over her head. "Five more minutes."

" _Henry_  doesn't have it to give you," the other woman said, voice suddenly much sharper.

Sitting up and throwing the covers to the bottom of the bed, Emma scowled. "I should be mad at you for that, but you're right." She glanced at the clock. "It's one in the morning. We don't have to be at Gold's shop until 3:30. Why are we up?"

"We have to go to the mausoleum before we go to Gold's shop. There are items there that I feel we'll need in order to get Henry back, and," Regina began her short walk to the bedroom door, "I assume you'll want to take a quick shower and get something to eat before we leave."

"Food's good," the blonde struggled and finally pulled herself from the warm, comfortable bed. "You're cooking it, right?"

"As if I'd allow you anywhere near my stove?" Regina snorted and exited the room, leaving an annoyed blonde in her wake.

* * *

"I didn't know you owned a pair of jeans," Emma commented as they walked down the steps beneath Henry Senior's tomb.

Regina rolled her eyes. The sheriff had been on a roll of asking random and highly annoying questions since breakfast ended. "Of course I own jeans. Why wouldn't I?"

"Because I've never seen you wear them before now, and don't be annoyed with me." The blonde rubbed at her chest, just above her heart. "I can feel it. I can't help it if I'm spacey this early in the morning."

Much to Regina's surprise, she could feel Emma's annoyance at her for her being annoyed at the sheriff. It was an odd sensation she decided to call emotional feedback. Shaking her head, she tried to get a better hold on her own emotions, which, hopefully, would allow Emma to do the same. "I'm sorry. There are some emotions that, when I have to be _this_ way are simply defaults for me. If we're to get through this…"

Emma placed a hand on Regina's arm as they came to a stop in front of a wall filled with drawers of various sizes. "I'll learn to deal." She looked around at the wall. "So what are we here for?"

Regina's eyes roamed from one drawer to the next until she found a small cubbyhole. Reaching into the darkened space, she pulled out a bastard sword sheathed in an ebony scabbard with intricate silver inlay. Holding it in one hand, she opened a small drawer near the cubbyhole and pulled out a matching dagger and scabbard. "To begin with, we came for these." She held them out.

Emma picked up the sword and her eyes widened a touch at how surprisingly light it felt. She had held her father's sword enough times to know that it ought to be heavier. Slowly raising it to look at the silver inlay design, she noted the intricate curls of silver that wrapped around the ebony, the crest at the top near the hilt of the sword contained a tree and an apple, and the silver tip at the end had a feather etched into it. "What is this?"

"It's yours," Regina answered simply. "Every good knight should have weaponry equal to the knight's worth, and, if you're to be  _my_ knight, then you deserve better than the scrap iron your father calls a sword. Go ahead, dear, pull it out and take a look."

Glancing from the woman in front of her back to the weapon in her hand, Emma wrapped her right hand around the black bound handle and slowly pulled the weapon out. She took in a deep breath. The actual metal of the sword was just as black as the ebony of the scabbard that housed it. "What is this made of?"

"A metal not found in this world. Stronger than anything here and much sharper, it can cut through almost anything." Regina smirked. "Do you like it?"

Emma stepped back and took a swing with it and was again surprised at both how easy it was to manage and how natural it felt in her hand. "Yeah, I do. You got a belt in there for me, too?"

"As a matter of fact," the brunette answered with a purr to her voice, "I do." Turning around and reaching back into the small drawer she'd opened, she pulled out a matching black belt. "I'm surprised, dear."

"At what?" Emma threaded the belt through the scabbard and placed it around her waist.

"I honestly thought you'd have some snide remark about the color of the weapon based on our discussion before we went to sleep." Regina handed the sheriff the dagger.

Emma dropped onto one knee and tucked the dagger into the top of her boot, making sure it was secure. "I can't really make sarcastic remakrs about the Evil Queen having a Black Knight if I volunteered for the job, now can I?" She stood up and adjusted the sword at her hip. She tested it to make sure she could easily pull the weapon if need be. "Besides, these things are kind of cool. Who did they belong to before?"

"The Black Knight," Regina answered in a nonchalant voice as she turned to push the drawer to and move down a little ways to a different set of drawers.

"Seriously?" The blonde scrunched her face up. "There was really a black knight?"

"That's what your parents dubbed her." The brunette shrugged. Opening a small set of doors, she pulled out a small wooden box and flipped the top open. "I called her by her name: Jade." Regina pulled a large silver ring bearing the same crest as the one on Emma's sword from the box and slipped on the middle finger of her right hand. "She was one of my most trusted knights."

Emma narrowed her eyes. "A female knight? I thought that wasn't allowed?"

"A powerful queen wasn't the accepted norm, either. She proved herself time and again in battle and she proved her loyalty to me on many occasions." Regina placed the box back into its space and moved down the wall to yet another set of drawers. Using her ring as a key, she unlocked a small drawer and pulled it open with a hint of reverence.

"What happened to her?" Emma's eyes were trained on the drawer, wondering what was in it that was so important to the other woman.

"She was a passionate woman," Regina answered dispassionately. Carefully reaching into the drawer, she pulled out a simple crown. "So much so that, when one of your parents' assassins came for me during the war, Jade threw herself in harm's way to protect me. It was a loss. She was an excellent knight."

Making an odd gesture with her free hand over the crown, Regina said a few words Emma didn't understand. A sudden puff of purple smoke enveloped the item, and, when the smoke cleared, a necklace took its place. She held it up to Emma. "Put this on me?"

The sheriff grunted but took the piece of jewelry and walked around to fasten it about the brunette's neck. "So we came here to get me a shiny new sword and you accessories?"

"No," the older woman gracefully lifted her hair from her neck to allow Emma to easily fasten the necklace and just barely suppressed the shiver that threatened to run over her body at the light touch from the other woman's fingers along the back of her neck. "We came here to retrieve my best knight's weaponry and the two items of my own that help to enhance my magical abilities." She turned on the ball of her foot, facing Emma and surprising the blonde with the swiftness of the movement. "The items, all of them, are enchanted."

The sheriff gave a thoughtful nod of understanding. "Is that why the sword is so easy to handle?"

"Yes, and it has other unique qualities that may come in useful. Before you ask, we don't have time to run through the list. We need to get going. I'll explain as much as I can recall on our way."

"You know," Emma said with snark in her voice, "no one ever said that true love came with mind reading abilities."

"Trust me, dear," Regina answered while she climbed the steps out of her private sanctuary, "if it  _did_ come with such abilities, I very much doubt you and I would be leaving right now."

"Yeah?" The blonde rushed to catch up. "Why's that? Did I say something that pissed you off enough to make you say really crappy things about me in your head?"

Regina smirked. "Not any more than usual. Let's just say that your touch has an effect on me and leave it at that for now."

"Oh,  _really_?" Emma's eyes brightened. "I know, I know, it's not the time or place, but I'm holding onto that for later use."

The brunette rolled her eyes. "Of course you are."

* * *

"I don't understand how you can make jokes right now," Mary Margaret practically yelled at her daughter and husband. "Henry needs us. This is not the time start a comedy routine."

"Who said we were?" Emma held her hands up in surrender. "Look, it's a thing I do, okay? When I'm nervous, I make jokes. It helps calm me down. I'm sorry if it's getting to you. I'll try to stop."

"You shouldn't be nervous," Gold said in a less than assuring voice. "My potion will work."

Emma groaned. "It's the 'after that' part I'm nervous about. We're only going to get one shot at this."

David stepped next to her and held up his sword. "I brought you this. Thought you might need it."

"That's really thoughtful of you, but I already having something." She pointed at her hip and the sheathed sword hanging down along the outside side of her leg.

"Emma, no," Mary Margaret shook her head, eyes large with unspoken fears. "You don't know who belonged to that or what it might do to you. Please, use your father's sword."

Emma's jaw set and her eyes hardened. "I know who it belonged to, and I know what it can do. Right now, we need every advantage we can get, and this sword can do things David's can't."

Her mother pleaded, "But, Emma…"

The blonde held a hand up. "It's not up for discussion. If you make me chose a side right now, I'm taking Regina's." At that, the woman in question looked up from the spell book she was reading and gave a self-satisfied smirk. "At some point, you're going to have to deal with the fact that Regina and I are a unit." Emma swallowed down a sudden lump of various, conflicting emotions. She realized they came from Regina, and, though she wanted to rush over to the other woman and give her all the assurances she'd never had before, the sheriff pushed the desire away lest it show the weakness they both had for each other. "It's what we are, and we're going to act like one."

"By becoming  _her_ Black Knight?" David's anger boiled in his eyes. "By becoming the very thing Henry wouldn't want you to be? What is that going to accomplish?"

"I'm not 'becoming' anything." Emma's own anger matched her father's. "I'm me, just like I've always been. I'm a survivor. I do what I have to do, and I'm tired of making apologies for who and what I actually am. This good versus evil thing all of you have going on is bullshit. It doesn't matter right now. What matters is Henry, and the only people who can save him are me and Regina, so," her eyes burned with her fury as she looked at each of her parents, "suck it up because, like it or not, I  _will_ be by Regina's side."

The room heaved with warring emotions; everyone was on edge and no one was ready to back down. It was Gold's amused and light voice that broke the piercing silence, and, even then, it only provided a small respite from the unspoken fight still raging between the two sides. "Well, if you all are done with this charming family bonding moment, everything is ready. I suggest we head for the docks."

"Great," Emma turned on her heel and headed out the door with Regina closely following behind her, not bothering to care if anyone besides Gold was following.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel really bad about all the exposition going on here, but I promise all this set up is for a purpose. It's not just to give Emma shiny new toys to play with, though that was an added bonus.
> 
> That said, how am I doing so far?


	5. Chapter 5

"So…what?" Emma eyed the vial of blue potion that seemed to have two different strands of an odd hue of purple swirling about in it. "We just drink it and then dive in?"

"Essentially," Gold nodded. "Of course, there's the matter of payment before I can give you the potion."

Belle's voice was quiet but on edge. "Rumple, we talked about this."

"We did, but I never said this would be a free exchange." He grinned and turned back to the very angry sheriff and former mayor. "I have something you want, and you have something I want, so I feel we can find some kind of agreement."

"Now is not the time for this foolishness." Regina's voice was a growl as she spoke. Though she didn't yell, the sheer force of her anger resonated through the people listening in. "If you wanted to strike a deal, you should have proposed it when we first began. That time has passed."

"On the contrary, your Highness," Gold said, lifting one of his eyebrows, " _now_  is the  _perfect_ time."

Before anyone could argue the point, Emma cut back in. "What do you want?"

"Nothing large and nothing that would prevent you from achieving your goals." His eyes roamed down to find the ring Emma was wearing around her neck. Keeping his eyes locked on the item, he said in a quiet voice. "I want that."

The blonde's hand shot to her neck and her fingers quickly found the ring. "You want my ring? Why? It's not worth anything. I'm not even sure it's real gold."

"Well, if it's not worth anything, then it won't be too difficult with you to part with it, now will it?" He cocked his head to the side in question.

"She can't give you that." Mary Margaret stepped forward. "You're not the one who is slated to receive that ring, Gold, and you know it."

"What I know, Ms. Blanchard, is that I have use for  _that_ ring, and, if these two are to save young Henry, then a deal needs to be struck." He pulled his fingers around the vial, clutching to the palm of his hand, and grinned.

Belle winced at the exchange. "Rumple, what are you doing? Why do you suddenly want Emma's ring? Can't we buy a gold band somewhere? Henry doesn't have time for this."

"He wants it because it belonged to Mary Margaret's mother." David's voice was cold with his disgust for the brewing situation. "It was a gift from the Blue Fairy to Eva on the eve of Eva's wedding, and it was the wedding band Eva wore until she died. I placed it with Emma when I sent her over. It's said the ring has special magical properties, but we never saw evidence of it. To us, it was a family heirloom we could give our daughter."

Emma's fingers played with the golden band. "It belonged to my grandmother?"

"And you were supposed to give it to your husband," Mary Margaret stopped herself and gave a quick, almost guilty glance, toward Regina. "Well, wife, I suppose." She cast her eyes down, clearly reaching a new level of distraught. "It was my wedding band. It was supposed to be a family tradition."

"Not all traditions are meant to be carried on," Gold said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Fine." The blonde tugged at the necklace holding the ring until the think golden strand snapped. She ignored her parents' pleas, and, though, she knew Regina didn't approve of the trade, either, the older woman showed no outward signs of her disapproval. Emma could feel it, but Henry's safety was much more important. "Take it." She held the broken necklace up to him.

"An excellent trade." With a swift move of his hand, he took the offered token and replaced it with two vials. "You'll have 24 hours. After that, the potion will wear off, and, if you're still too far below, I can't promise you'll make it to the surface on time. I hope one of you has a waterproof watch?"

"Yeah, I got it covered," Emma grumbled as she handed one of the vials to Regina.

"Rumple," Belle hissed, "I can't believe…"

"Not now, Belle," he cut her off. "We'll discuss this later." With a small bow at the waist he addressed the rest of the party. "I'm no longer needed here. Good luck to you." With a smirk on his face and the ring firmly sitting in a coat pocket, he walked away with Belle following closely behind.

They all watched them go before turning back to the business at hand.

Regina's face tightened even more, and, before she could stop the words, she said in an all too emotional voice, "I really hate him." Her eyes widened at her own remark before narrowing to look over to the sheriff, who was trying not to chuckle. "Keep your emotional comments to yourself, Ms. Swan."

"I would if I could, but, hey," the younger woman shrugged, "look at it this way. It means that I'm probably going to eventually say something you're thinking really hard, and won't that be fun for everyone?" She rolled her eyes.

The brunette feigned consideration. "For me, perhaps."

"If anything happens," Mary Margaret said by way of turning the conversation, "Emma, I want you to know that your father and I love you and Henry very much."

A grimace washed over Emma's face. "I know, but you don't have to worry. Henry,  _Regina_ , and I will be back before you know it."

"Speaking of," Regina intoned with an air of impatience, "I believe we've wasted enough time. Shall we?"

Emma nodded, giving one last look to her parents before turning around to follow the older woman to the end of the pier. "Bottoms up." She gave a little motion as if to toast and drank down the thick liquid, nearly chocking on the cloyingly sweet taste, before jumping into the water.

Regina followed, and they soon found themselves comfortably breathing a few feet beneath the waves.

Orienting themselves, they quickly found they could communicate via thought. Though the distance their thoughts could travel wasn't known, they were relieved to find they could communicate in some manner.

"Why the hell was that so sweet?" Emma made a disgusted face while they began to swim toward their destination.

"True love." Regina rolled her eyes. "It's overly sweet, isn't it?"

"Like taking sugar and mixing it with corn syrup and dousing it in honey for good measure. God," Emma opened her mouth to allow the saltwater to wash her mouth out as she moved through it. "When we get back, I want to drink something bitter just to get the taste out of my mouth. The saltwater isn't working."

Regina glanced over to the other woman. "Coffee?"

"Yeah," Emma nodded. "I want some coffee. That potion was nasty."

"It's good to know you're disgusted by our love, dear," the brunette countered in a mildly offended tone.

"Please, as if you enjoyed that crap. Come on, Regina. Admit it, it was nasty. Besides, I bet it wasn't  _our_ true love that tasted like that. I bet it was Mary Margaret and David's. I doubt we're that sickly sweet." The blonde turned her head to watch a school of fish go by them.

"And what do you think our love tastes like?" Regina couldn't stop herself from asking. They both knew the conversation was pointlessly silly. They both knew they should be going over their game plan again, but they both needed this little mental respite before the upcoming battle.

"Coffee," Emma said definitively. "And you can sort of taste it in the aftertaste of that potion. After the super sweet goes away, there's a hint of coffee, and that makes sense. Our love is like a good blend of coffee. It's dark, smooth, and a little bitter with hints of other flavors that combine into something that is hearty, soothing, and, at the same time, stimulating. We're like a fine blend of coffee."

Regina stopped moving and turned to stare at the other woman. "I never knew you were even close to that eloquent."

Moving through the cold water, Emma stopped in front of the brunette and reached forward to place a hand on the other woman's face. "I have my moments." Leaning in, she gently kissed Regina. "And, when we get out of here with Henry, maybe you'll get to see me wax poetic about other things."

"Such as?" Regina leaned into Emma's touch.

"My love of bear claw doughnuts or something." Emma shrugged, smirking when Regina gave her a hard look for breaking the moment. "Are you ready? I think I see something down there about 20 yards or so. Is that the place?"

Regina followed Emma's line of sight and spotted what looked like an underwater cave. "Yes, I believe so. Ursula has always been so very predictable. If she wanted a hidden lair, she could have at least not left her mark on the outside of it."

The sheriff squinted, looking for whatever the mark was. She finally saw a group of coral that seemed to shape the number 8. "She has a lucky number?"

The brunette rolled her eyes. "That is the sign for infinity." Taking one last moment to steady herself, Regina held her hand up to test her magic. A flame appeared in her hand, and the water around it sizzled. "After her daughter's unfortunate death, Ursula took to saying she had an undying hatred for me. The symbol started popping up around different areas of her lair and then her trap shortly thereafter."

"I see you are especially good at making lifelong friends," Emma commented, the sarcasm thick.

"It's one of the many reasons why you love me, dear," Regina retorted.

"That and you have an amazing ass," the blonde responded without missing a beat.

"Thank you," the older woman smirked. "But enough of this. We should go. I think a straight forward approach is probably best. She knows we're coming."

"Right." Emma nodded and pulled her sword. Under the water, the weapon seemed to glow with a black fire that illuminated the blade. "What is that for?"

"It's channeling our magic." Regina nodded, and they both began to move toward the mouth of the cave. "The dark is mine and the light around the edges of the flame is yours."

The sheriff gave the blade a considerate look. "Do you think I can shoot it off like you throw fireballs?"

"Most likely. The sword will know what you need from it when you need it. That's part of the charm of its various enchantments." Glancing at the sword, Regina frowned. "The flame is mostly black."

"We'll deal with it later," Emma said in a measured tone that left no room for debate. "Henry's what matters right now."

"You're right." Regina gave a little disinterested hum as they entered the mouth of the cave. "Well, I hope she at least made us some tea," she nonchalantly commented as they came to a stop a little inside the cave. "I do so hate it when a hostess does a poor job of offering hospitality to their guests."

"Had I known you'd be here so soon," Ursula's voice boomed from some darkened part of the cave, "I'd have made sure to make some tea for you." Moving into the light, Ursula in her true form caught Emma by surprise. "I'm so sorry to disappoint you, your Highness."

Though thinner, Disney had not gotten the basic design of the sea witch's appearance wrong. The bottom half of her was most definitely that of a black octopus. The top half, however, was only somewhat recognizable as human. There were scales where skin would be, and they had an eerie iridescent quality to them. Her hands held elongated fingers that fell into sharp points, doubling as both fingers and claws. Her eyes were completely black with no pupil to be found, and her mouth held jagged, shark-like teeth. Her hair, though still white, was far less tamed than in the human form she had taken. It moved wildly about her head in time to the currents her movements created in the water.

"It wouldn't be the first time you've disappointed me, dear," Regina replied with a complete lack of caring attached to her tone. "But Emma and I are not here for pleasantries or to discuss your failures. Where is Henry?"

"Safe for now," Ursula replied as she slithered a bit closer to the pair. "In roughly 18 hours, he'll be safe forever. He's going to make a fantastic heir to my little piece of the kingdom, don't you think?"

Emma started to lunge forward but was caught by an emotion surging from Regina. It was fear. It stopped her short. If the Evil Queen was afraid, something bad was happening.

"He's not  _your_  son," Emma growled. "He's  _ours_ , and we're here to take him back home. Where he is?"

"Our son?" The creature before them seemed to give Emma an overly long look. "Well, well, well, it looks like our Queen has not one but  _two_ weaknesses. How interesting, and how very convenient for me."

Without further warning, Ursula threw her arm forward and motioned with her hand, sending a bolt of purple lightening zipping through the water towards Emma's chest, towards her heart. The last thing Emma registered before the spell struck her was Regina's absolute panic.


	6. Chapter 6

Regina's panic mixed with Emma's fear as the spell hurdled through the water toward its target. For a brief moment, neither woman could move because the tumultuous mix of emotions was too great to overcome, and, in that all too short time, both women were certain it was the end for the sheriff.

As their eyes locked for what felt like the last time, the sword in Emma's hand swung up, deflecting the bolt of magic and preventing any harm to come to the woman whose hand had a death grip on its hilt.

While Emma blinked with confusion, Regina let out the breath she was holding and turned back to the sea witch. "Where is Henry?"

"That's all you have to say?" Ursula's face pinched into a mocking expression and her voice lowered to mimic the brunette's. "Where's Henry? What have you done with Henry?" Violently moving her hand through the water as if to set aside the mocking, she shouted back, "Why should I tell you? You never told me where  _my_ child was after you took her from me."

"He's  _my_ son, too," Emma shouted to distract their adversary, hoping that, while she spoke to her, Regina might be able to find where Henry was. " _I_ gave birth to him. He's  _mine_ just as much as he is Regina's." Much to her surprise, the sheriff didn't feel the pang of jealousy or hatred coming from the other woman as she would have expected at those words. Instead, she only felt a dogged determination. "If you keep Henry, you're punishing me just as much as you're punishing her, and  _I_ haven't done anything to you."

She had Ursula's attention, and, through the corner of her eye, she could see Regina slowly moving around the cave toward the back. Keeping the line of comments up to maintain the distraction, Emma began to talk, not really paying attention to what she was saying. She knew she needed to keep going, and she found herself talking about Henry in way she rarely allowed herself to do.

"Henry," she said in a much older, much more tired voice than Regina had ever heard come from the blonde, "is the best thing I've ever done. He's… he's a good kid, you know? He's smart, and he's caring, and he has a big heart… a big capacity to forgive when he knows that it's okay. I missed the first 10 years of his life because I  _knew_ I wasn't the right person to raise him. I wanted to give him a change to live a good life, to be someone who could make it in the world. So I gave him up." Emma kept the sword held up in a defensive posture, but her voice was vulnerable and unguarded. "It was the right thing to do. He wound up in the care of someone who wanted him and honestly loves him. He grown up with everything he could ever need, he's healthy, and I think that, if you'd give him back, he could finally be happy, too because I could finally provide him with the family he's always wanted." She sighed heavily. "We could be family."

Ursula's eyes narrowed at the small woman before her. "You easily gave up your child. Now you say you want to be his family? That makes no sense. Why would you want him back?"

"It wasn't easy," Emma spat back. "It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. To see him and hold him for just a few minutes after he was born and then give him up," she shook her head. "I did what was best for my son, but it wasn't easy. Doing what's best for someone you love," she swallowed down a lump in her throat, "is rarely easy for you. But I'm here now, and I'm grateful that I am. Even though I think he wound up in good hands, I regret every single day of his life that I missed out on, and I don't want to miss another moment with him. You, of all people, can understand that, can't you? Please, just let me have my son back."

The silence in the cave mounted as Ursula considered Emma's words while Regina came to a quiet stop in front of what looked to be a solid rock wall at the back of the shallow cave. She waved her hand in front of it, using magic to detect anything out of the ordinary.

Emma knew she had found something when Regina's emotions went from high determination to high excitement mixed with a little relief. There must be a hidden door in the rock's face. Henry wasn't far away.

"No," the sea witch's voice was quiet. "You don't get to win that easily." Swinging around to where Regina stood with her hand extended toward the rock wall, Ursula reared back to take a swipe at the brunette with one of her clawed hands.

"NO!" Emma's cry rang out as she moved forward. Terror, panic, anger, and a need to protect coursed through her as she raised her sword.

The movement was quick and smooth. The black blade sliced easily through the water, not stopping until it found its target, Ursula's neck. Cutting through the scales, muscle, and bone there, it ended its trail on the other side of the creature's body, leaving a bloody, seeping trail in the water and two very stunned woman floating there looking at the damage.

"I killed her." The disbelief in Emma's voice was echoed in the expression on her face.

Regina shook her head slowly from side to side. "It was the blade. The blade…"

"Does what I want it do, and I wanted to kill her because she was about to kill you." The blonde's large, round eyes looked from the weapon in her hand to the woman across the way. "I didn't want to just stop her. I wanted her dead."

"It was my influence." Regina's voice was hoarse with pain and regret. "This shouldn't have happened. It shouldn't have been you that killed her. You're not supposed to…"

"I'm the savior." Emma was beginning to pull herself together. Her survival instincts kicked in, and she quickly reached some kind of conclusion in her mind which she latched onto for the sake of her sanity. "My job is to protect you,  _all_ of you, and there are two people I'd protect at  _any_  cost." She moved around the remains of the sea witch to where Regina remained floating. Reaching out with her free hand, Emma grasped the older woman's chin between her thumb and forefinger, forcing Regina to look her in the eye. "I will  _always_ protect you and Henry."

"Henry," Regina said in a soft voice. The word seemed to shake her out of her daze, and she turned toward the wall again. "Henry is in there. She's got a protection spell on the door, but I think I can break through it." Reaching out again, her face turned hard, mouth pulling downwards as she concentrated her will. The items she had insisted on retrieving from her mausoleum started to glow, and, in a few minutes, the wall shifted to reveal a second, much small room. "I can't do that again." She took a moment to compose what little energy she had left. "Let's hope he's in there and not behind something else."

The moved quickly through the door and paid close attention to their surroundings lest something else stand in their way. What they found in the small room was a glowing rock that provided a little illumination. It was enough to show Henry where he was shackled to the wall. His head hung down, and his hands were balled in fists. Though it was difficult to see in the shadows being cast by the rock, the lower half of his body looked off.

"Henry?" Regina's voice was soft and coaxing. "Henry, can you hear me?"

His head lifted and his eyes narrowed. "Mom?"

The brunette gave a reassuring smile. "Yes, Henry. We're both here."

He looked from one woman to the other and then back again. "Prove it's you."

The two women gave each other a perplexed look. "How?" Emma asked.

"Mom, what's your favorite color?" It was simple question, and it was one Henry had asked the last person who had come into the room claiming to be the woman who had raised him for 10 years. That woman had gotten it wrong. That woman had said 'red', and he'd known it was Ursula in disguise.

Regina frowned. "My favorite color?" She looked to Emma, who only shrugged. "It's blue."

Henry nodded to himself and turned his eyes to the blonde. "Ma?" He voice was suspicious. "Why do you wear that red leather jacket?"

Despite the situation, Emma smirked. A couple of weeks back, he'd asked her that, and she had answered him with the truth. The truth had made Ruby, who was eavesdropping in on them, laugh so hard she snorted. "Well, I like it. It's comfortable. I've had it for a long time, and, even though Regina says she hates it, I know she's just saying that to cover up the fact she thinks it looks great on me. She's just jealous she doesn't have one of her own." To finish off, she winked just like she had before.

"It is you!" Henry's voice became alight with excitement. "It's really you! How did you find me? How can you breathe under water? How are you going to get me out of here?" His eyes widened and the real panic hit. "We have to get out of here before  _she_ comes back."

"She's not coming back, kid." Emma moved forward and took a swing at his shackles. The sword easily cut them open, freeing him. "You don't have to worry about it."

As she moved back, Henry moved forward into the light. That's when they saw it. "Oh, Henry," Regina said in a tight voice, "how long have you been like this?"

He glanced down at what had been his legs. The tail moved fluidly in the water. "Since she pulled me down into the water. You can fix me, right?"

"I was afraid of this," the brunette muttered more to herself than to the others. "I think I can, but you'll have to trust me. I'll have to use my magic."

His little face displayed his mixture of emotions. On one hand, he wanted to be himself again. On the other hand, he didn't want his mother to fall back into her need to use magic. As if reading his mind, Emma said, "It's okay, kid. She's got it under control, and we'll be with her to help her if anything happens."

He nodded, swimming forward toward the door. "Okay, can we go now?"

"Listen, Henry, before you go out there, there's something you need to know." The blonde's jaw flexed as she considered her words. "The reason Ursula won't be bothering us is because… because she's dead." She winced. The words sounded clumsy even to her.

"You killed her?" Henry's eyes shot a look toward Regina. "You couldn't just trap her again or something?"

"No," Emma cut in before Regina could answer. " _She_  didn't kill her. I did."

"You? But, Emma, you can't kill someone." His voice was verging on frantic. "You're the White Knight. White Knights don't kill people. They trap them or trick them or something. You can't! You…"

Regina placed a hand on his shoulder, silencing him. "She did it to protect me and save you, Henry. She did what had to be done."

He slowly shook his head. "This is bad."

"You know," Emma's eyes narrowed in irritation, "a 'thanks for saving me, Ma' would be nice, or a 'thank goodness Mom didn't get killed' would be good, too."

"Emma…" Regina's tone said the sheriff should think about what was coming out of her mouth.

"I," Henry was taken by surprise at the reaction from his younger mother. "I… mean, yeah, I'm glad Mom's alive, and I'm glad I'm not trapped here, but it's just that, well, you… you're not…"

"Come on," the blonde said with a note of disgust in her voice, "let's go home so we can get you back to normal."

Moving past the other two and out the door, Emma swung wide to avoid Ursula's corpse and the blood that still seeped from it. She didn't bother to make sure she was being followed, nor did she pause until the surface was in view. It wasn't until she stopped just a few feet from the surface that she glanced down to even know the other two were close behind her, and, even then, she wasn't happy or pleased to see them. Instead, she found herself irritated with her son and in need of a few hours' peace with Regina.

She and Regina had a lot to talk about, and, after this last adventure, she found she honestly needed more than a few hours with the brunette. Assuming Henry was safe, she needed a break from this town, the people, and her family so she could regroup.

Savior or not, White Knight or not, mother or not, she was still a person, and, as a very real, very mortal person, she had finally reached a breaking point.


	7. Chapter 7

"Emma," Regina's tone was cautious as the brunette approached the blonde who was holding steady just a few feet below the water's surface, "we need to approach the next few things we do very carefully."

The sheriff rolled her eyes and gave a quick glance to their son before she replied. "You worried about Mary Margaret?" At the slight nod from other woman, she snorted. "Yeah, me, too."

"She's not going to like what happened," Henry offered without being asked. "Do you think we have to tell her? Maybe, if no one knows, everything will be okay?"

"Oh, I'm telling her." Emma scowled at him. "And, if  _anyone_ so much as  _suggests_ that Regina was in any shape or form responsible for Ursula's death, I expect both of you to set them straight. That was all me, and I take full responsibility for it."

"You don't have to." Regina started to reach her hand out but stopped just short of touching the blonde. "It would be perfectly acceptable if they thought I had been responsible for her death."

"No." Emma shook her head and her eyes moved between the two pairs of very concerned gazes looking back at her. "You're not taking the blame for this, and, honestly, I don't think there's any blame to be had. It's like you said. I did what had to be done." She glanced down at the sword still in her grasp and slowly sheathed it. "I'll just have to learn to live with it. Lying about it, and having our son lie about it will compound things."

"Ma," Henry's voice was small and confused, "will you be okay?"

"Eventually," she answered in a dark tone. "But that's not important right now. What we need to focus on is getting you back to normal." She turned her attention to Regina. "What do we need to do?"

"We'll have to get him out of the water and onto dry land. From there, I'll need a boost from your magic. That combined with mine and the enchanted items I have might be enough to counteract the spell he's under." The older woman's eyes narrowed in thought. "Ursula's magic couldn't have gotten stronger with age. There was no chance for her to enhance her magical abilities when she was in that trap. This should work."

"What if it doesn't?" Henry glanced down at his body with a wary eye.

"Well, we  _are_ in Maine. I guess we go into the lobster businesses," Emma answered with a smirk. At her companions' looks of disbelief, she shrugged. "What? Oh, come on! It was a joke!"

"Bad timing, Ms. Swan," Regina chastised under her breath. "Henry, are you ready?"

"Yeah, let's go." Gracefully turning in the water, he began to swim toward the shore with his mothers trailing behind him.

* * *

The wind was cold and biting. As the two women found their footing on the rocky beach, they tried to regain a sense of balance now that the world no longer kept them afloat. Henry patiently waited for them to adjust, and watched with awe as their bodies emerged from the water completely dry.

"Kid, I'm going to pick you up and carry you the rest of the way, okay?" He nodded, and she scooped him up in her arms to carry him bridal style to the beach.

"Emma? Henry?" Mary Margaret's voice cut through the wind.

Emma winced but ignored her and kept walking to the dry shoreline. "You know, that tail doesn't look too bad on you," she said just quietly enough for only her son to hear her.

"Yeah?" He gave it a tiny flick. "It was kind of cool to be able to swim through the water like that."

"I bet." She grunted as she kneeled to set him on the grass. "Bet you'd rather be running around playing basketball, though. Right?"

A frown pulled at the corners of his mouth. "You know I'm not good at sports."

"He gets that from you," Regina said in a voice that held a hint of humor in it. "He inherited your clumsiness."

Emma gave Henry a regretful look. "Sorry, kid."

"Oh my God," Mary Margaret came to a skidding halt next to the trio with David following closely behind her. "What happened?"

"We've already told you what happened," Regina snapped back.

"Did you forget in the few hours we were gone or what?" Emma added in an acrid tone only to physically pull back from the hatefulness that laced her words. "Sorry." She glanced around. "Sorry, Mary Margaret."

Regina tried to ignore the exchange, but a small amount of concern passed over her features. It didn't go unnoticed by David, who said nothing; he only watched. Kneeling down next to Henry and Emma, Regina asked in an assured tone, "Ms. Swan, are you ready?"

"Yeah, let's get this over with." Reaching her hand out, the sheriff allowed Regina to take it. She placed her free hand on Henry and gave his shoulder a little squeeze. "You'll be back to normal in no time."

From their place a few feet away, Henry's grandparents watched. "I hope whatever they're about to do works," Mary Margaret said in a hushed voice.

"It'll work." David's jaw flexed, and his body stiffened. "It has to."

"This may hurt a little, Henry, and I'm very sorry." Regina placed her free hand on the boy's other shoulder. "I'll try to make this go as quickly as I can."

He nodded. "Okay, I'm ready."

A dark, rolling purple cloud emanated from the two women's hands where they touched Henry, and it ran over his body. He began to make little whining sounds in the back of his throat but remained as quiet and still as he could. Regina and Emma held their ground as Regina worked their combined magic over their son. Sweat began to appear around Emma's hairline, and the brunette's breathing accelerated as the seconds ticked away.

When the smoke cleared, both women were beyond exhausted, and Henry was clearly tired, but he was himself again. "I have legs!" He scrambled up to stand and then jump up and down. "You did it!" As he bounced around, his mothers slowly stood, helping each other remain upright. Once he noticed they were standing, he launched himself at them, wrapping them both in a hug. "Thank you!"

Emma let out a grunt. "Sure thing, kid."

Regina tried to keep her grunt from bubbling up but didn't succeed. "Anything for you, Henry."

David stepped forward, face pinched in concern. "Are you two alright?"

"No," Emma answered too quickly to allow Regina a word in. "We've been through more stuff in a week than most people experience in a lifetime, I'm starving, and, honestly, I'm about ready to pass out."

Mary Margaret reached out to place a hand on her grandson's shoulder. "Will Henry be okay?"

"He'll be fine," Regina answered in a much drained voice.

David was still considering the situation. "It didn't take very long. We thought you'd be down there for lot longer."

"Things happened kind of quick. It only took us half an hour to swim down to the cave we thought she might be hiding in, and we lucked out that it was the right cave." The blonde shrugged. "I think took about that long to get the kid, too. We've been gone, what?" She glanced at her watch. "About three hours, give or take?"

"What about Ursula?" The pixie brunette tilted her head to the side in thought. "What did you do with her? Will she be able to get to Henry again?"

"No," Emma said in a way that gave the distinct impression there was more to the answer that she didn't want to say. Taking in a deep breath, she pushed on. "She won't be a problem anymore. She's dead."

"Dead? What happened? Is everyone okay?" Her mother's eyes showed honest concern for returned party of three.

"Yeah, we're fine." Running a hand through her surprisingly dry hair, Emma forced herself to look her mother in the eyes. "I killed her."

"You what?" Mary Margaret gave a slow blinked. "Emma, no."

Her daughter shrugged, eyes glancing down to the ground between them. "She was about to take out Regina."

"Surely there had to be another way?" Frowning deepening, Mary Margaret's eyes pleaded to say there was some mistake.

Emma sighed and forced her eyes back up again. "Maybe, but it doesn't matter. If I hadn't taken her out, she would have continued to be a threat to my family. She was dangerous, unstable, and - right at that moment - she was standing between us and our son,  _and_  she was about two seconds from killing Regina. It had to be done."

The smaller woman huffed. "But…"

"I think these two need some rest," David broke in, gently taking his wife's hand as he looked over his daughter. "Maybe some alone time, too?"

"Yeah, that'd be good." Emma gave him a grateful look. "Just a few days? I need… I need to sort a few things out."

"How about a week and we go from there?" He gave a feeble smile before turning to his grandson. "Come on, Henry, let's go back to our place and give your," he paused for just the briefest of moments, "moms some downtime to rest."

Henry looked between the two pairs of adults, eyes saying he really didn't want to leave his mothers' side again. It was Emma that grasped his shoulder and maneuvered him toward her parents, and it was the sheriff who said in a harsh voice, "Go on, kid."

His little face showed a touch of hurt, but he nodded and allowed Mary Margaret to take his hand and lead him away. She glanced over her shoulder to her daughter, eyes filled with fear and concern, but she didn't say a word more within earshot of Emma or Regina.

"You shouldn't be so harsh on Henry," the brunette stated in a quiet voice. "He's only a child. He doesn't understand everything that's happened over the past year as we understand it. His mind is still very black and white."

"Yeah, I know." Emma watched her foot kick a rock. "I just can't pull it in right now." She looked up, finding Regina's eyes and holding them with a look of frustration that Regina could feel through their connection. "Is this what it's always going to be like now?"

"I honestly don't know." The older woman wrapped an arm through the sheriff's and began to lead her toward their home. "Let's try to get some rest, and, after that, we'll see if there's any damage control we may be able to do."

Emma's voice was whiny when she finally spoke. "I can't decide if I'm more hungry than tired or more tired than hungry."

"Well," Regina tilted her head in thought, "perhaps, after a nap, you'll simply be hungry? I'll cook something after we get some sleep. How does that sound?"

"Crazy domestic," the blonde answered with a dark chuckle. "We went from zero to married in, like, a week."

The older woman nodded sagely. "U-haul lesbians."

"What?" Emma whipped her head around to look at her companion.

"I believe the term is U-haul lesbian, dear. You know," Regina gave her best arrogant smirk, "it's the term for lesbians who move in with each other after the first date."

Emma blinked at her. " _How_ do you even know that?"

"Just because we couldn't leave the town doesn't mean we were completely cut off from the outside world. I used to watch a lot of VH1 and MTV back in the 80s and early 90s, and, before you arrived, I'd moved on to Logo." The brunette's smirk turned into a goofy little smile. "Watching bad TV is one of my guilty little pleasures."

"I would never have guessed that." The sheriff's voice held a note of awe at this brand new piece of information.

Regina shrugged. "What can I say, Ms. Swan? I'm a woman of many mysteries."

Despite herself, the sheriff chuckled. Taking in a deep breath as they walked on, she considered something for a bit before she broke the silence again. "I don't think we  _had_ a first date, did we? I'm thinking not. Maybe, at some point this week, we could do that? The date thing?"

"Perhaps, but," they stopped walking to allow Regina to really look at younger woman, "I want us to address the darkness first. I'm very concerned, Emma."

"Yeah," the blonde nodded in a self-depreciating way, "so am I."


	8. Chapter 8

"Death to all crickets," Emma grumbled, her voice muffled because she was still face first in her pillow.

Regina chuckled as she rolled over to scoot closer to the other woman and wrap herself around the blonde's body. "I could shut the window, if you'd like."

"Can't you just," the younger woman gave a very vague wave of her free hand, letting it drop with a dramatic thud back onto the bed, "you know, magic them away or something? It's not like we  _need_ crickets. They're annoying, and they're loud, and they're keeping us from sleeping. They should all be taken out." She gave a heavy sigh of annoyance. "Put them all out of  _our_  misery."

The brunette stiffened. "I think Doctor Hopper might disagree, dear."

Turning her head and slowly opening her eyes, Emma looked toward the open window and took some time to look at the darkening sky. After a moment, she rolled over and propped herself up, and, while she waited for Regina to do the same, she closed her eyes and listened intently.

"Crickets chirping have never been something that I found relaxing," the sheriff said in a subdued voice. With her eyes closed, she couldn't see Regina's focused attention on her, be she could feel the heightened awareness the other woman had. It radiated from their connection. "But I can honestly say I've never wanted to destroy every single cricket in existence just because one or two were making enough noise to wake me up from a dead sleep." She opened her eyes and turned to look at the woman beside her. "I mean, yeah, I've wanted to kill that one or two, but this?" Her lips formed a thin line as she thought of the right words to describe how she felt. "This is really different. It's like I'm irritated but multiplied by a thousand."

Regina broke their eye contact. Her gaze went down to her hands where they rested in her lap and then out to the open window. With a graceful ease, she moved out of the bed and closed the window, pulling the curtains more soundly closed before she took up her place again.

Her eyes remained anywhere but on Emma, and her mouth pulled down into a deep frown. She remained quiet, lost in her own thoughts, for so long the other woman thought she had said something offensive. Emma was just about to apologize for anything she might have said wrong when Regina finally spoke up.

"When I first started using magic, I didn't really want to." Her lips twitched downward even more. "You know that, but what I didn't tell you is how I felt after I started to really embrace that part of me." Regina's eyes slowly made their way to Emma's as she spoke. "Magic feels good to use. That's one of the reasons it is so very addicting, but, as I used the magic to get what I wanted and I began to darken my heart." She winced. "Blacken it." Her voice cracked, and she cleared her throat a few times before she could continue. "I found that my more selfish, more …well, for lack of a better turn of phrase …my more  _evil_ impulses became stronger, and I wanted to and often did act upon them more."

"Wait a minute." Emma physically turned her body to face her companion. "Are you telling me that this is how it starts?" She swallowed down the lump in her throat. "Are you saying that I'm starting to turn evil because I killed Ursula?"

"No," Regina gave a very small shake of her head. "I'm saying what I've always said. I'm telling you what I told you not long ago. Once a heart starts to darken, I don't know of any way to reverse. I've only seen it become more and more dark. At the time, you told me that hearts could heal, and the marks on my own were scars. They were reminders of what I'd gone through."

She looked away again, running a hand through her hair as a way to deal with her concerns and tensions. "Emma," when she looked back to the other woman, her voice came out in a soft yet somewhat sorrowful voice, "if you let it, it  _will_  get worse."

"How do I stop it?" The panic rising on the blonde's face only heightened the already strong emotions in the room. "I knew we were taking a chance, but, Regina, if we're both… like  _this_  it… it  _can't_  end well for anyone. For you, for me, for Henry… for the town…"

"It's a fight." Regina reached forward and took one of Emma's hands between her own. "It takes a lot of willpower and a strong sense of self. I never had that. I had a very broken heart, low self-esteem, and I was very lost. Rumple took advantage of that. He used me and formed me into the monster he needed to enact the curse. But you? You're none of those things. You're strong. You know who you are. We can work through this."

"I'm not." Emma was shaking her head quickly from side to side, eyes growing larger by second with fear. "I'm not as strong as you think I am. It's all show, Regina.  _All show_. And I  _don't_ know who I am. I've  _never_ known who I am. I've spent my entire life trying find my place, and…"

"You found it." Regina said simply. With a small, gentle smile on her face, she gave the hand in hers a reassuring squeeze. "You did. You've found your place. You're Henry's mother. You're the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. You're my other, better half, and I mean that in all the connotations that it holds. You're the sheriff of this town. You're the Savior to the people who live here. You're brave but not fearless. You're intelligent, loyal, protective, and I  _am positive_ ," she said as she leaned a little closer to the other woman, "that you will not let this small bit of darkness break you as it broke me because you are the strongest person I have ever known."

Emma stared at the other woman. Slowly, she began to lose her look of panic, and her breathing started to level out. In time, she managed to calm herself, but the doubt in her eyes never left her. "I met you before. Remember? I met the younger you. You seemed strong then."

"I had Daniel." Despite herself, Regina winced at the memories associated with him. "He  _was_  my strength. He gave me hope for something better than I had, and he loved me for me. When I lost him, I lost my tether; I lost the thing that kept me grounded and reminded me to focus on the good instead of the mistreatment I continually suffered."

"Yeah, he was… he was a really nice guy." Emma turned her head, eyes roaming the well-kept room. She kept her gaze away as she asked in a distracted tone, "But who do I have to keep  _me_  ground? Everyone uses me for that kind of thing, but where do I go? It's not like I can rely on my parents for this. They wouldn't understand. They'd just blame you and moan and whine about how evil I might become." She finally locked eyes with Regina again. "What is it you call them? A couple of idiots?"

"Yes, well," the brunette shifted uncomfortably. Raising an eyebrow, she said, "that's probably not the best descriptor for you to use for your parents. I can get away with such things. It's expected of me." She shrugged. "As for who you have? You have me, Emma, and I won't leave you while you fight this." She gave a tug to the hand in hers to encourage the other woman to lean closer. "And I'm not going to push you away."

Emma obliged, scooting a bit closer so she could lean as far in as Regina wanted her to, which brought them a scan few inches away from each other. "Everyone leaves."

"That's your insecurities talking. Keep them in check. Now that they have a place to boil and fester, they will try every chance they have to come out and influence you." Regina's eyes flicked over the blonde's face. "You're better than to let them win, and, may I add, too hard headed to allow them victory." She smirked before closing the distance to kiss Emma. "I'm not leaving, and I'm not going to allow you to leave me. I  _know_. I  _understand_."

The young woman leaned her head against Regina's shoulder. "Since when did you become so good at being supportive?"

"Since my true love needed me to be," the brunette replied in a smooth, quick tone. The answer took both of them by surprise, but it was Regina who broke the stunned silence. "I suppose having been one to already go through the worst possible case scenario, I find that I feel I'm the only one qualified to help you avoid it the pitfalls, if and when I'm able."

"Is that your way of saying that you don't want me to end up a Black Swan?" Emma pulled back to give her best attempt at a smirk. "Because you said I looked great in black."

"And so you do, but I said you look  _best_ in red." Regina pursed her lips and shook her head in mock disapproval. "You were never one for white, Ms. Swan. You've always been one to proudly display a color that is uniquely your own. What I'm saying is that, as the Queen to your Knight, I forbid you to change your color one bit. It would displease me." Her tone held a hint of the royal she once was even as her eyes danced with dark humor.

"Well, if my Queen forbids it." Emma pretended to give it a moment's thought. "I guess that means I should do everything I can to make sure it doesn't happen. I can't go around disobeying direct orders, now can I?"

The older woman gave a curt nod of her head. "Precisely."

Emma chuckled. "We're both crazy, you know that?"

"Perhaps, but it works for us." Regina shrugged. "Are you hungry?"

"Yes, and I'm thirsty, and I have an overpowering need to jump you." The blonde's eyes sparkled with mischief.

"To," Regina's voice screamed she was confused, "jump me?"

A growl and the quick movement of the younger woman pinning her to the bed was the only answer she received for her question.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many people were disappointed that saving Henry from Ursula wasn't a long, drawn out affair. If you follow me on tumblr or twitter, then you've already seen me say this. But, for those of you who don't, this story was never going to be about saving Henry. This story focuses on Emma's fight, the one you've just been introduced to.
> 
> I felt that someone needed to fully know and understand Regina's internal and external struggles. To me, the only person that ever fit that bill was Emma, and, though it kind of sucks for the sheriff, she's about to really learn about Regina's fight in a firsthand kind of way.
> 
> Walking in Regina's shoes will do one of two things for Emma and Regina. It'll make them stronger, or it will destroy them both… and probably take out most of the town with them.


	9. Chapter 9

"So what's for dinner?" Emma plopped down onto a stool by the kitchen island as she sipped at her coke.

From her place on the other side of the island, Regina looked up through her eyelashes at the younger woman before turning her attention back to the dough in her hands. "I'm baking chicken, and there are mixed vegetables steaming."

Emma took in a deep breath. "Smells really good. Sooooo, what else are you making?"

With a wickedly mischievous grin and her eyes still on her hands as they worked, the brunette answered casually, "Apple turnovers."

The drink in the sheriff's hand stopped halfway to her mouth, which hung agape. Slowly shutting it, she narrowed her eyes as she slowly set the coke back down on the island's top. Tilting her head to the side and giving her best smirk, she replied with as much bravado as she was able, "Good. I'm actually a little bummed I didn't get to try them the first time around. Minus the sleeping curse, they looked like they probably tasted okay."

"Okay?" Regina's eyes flickered up to give a hard look to her companion before going back to her work. "Just okay? I'll have you know that I spent, literally, years perfecting my recipes. They're the best in town, and I'd wager to say they are the best anywhere."

"Of course they are," Emma said with a shrug. Picking her glass up again, she said from behind the rim, "You never do anything halfway."

"I most certainly  _do not_ ," the brunette replied while she carefully rolled out the dough.

Emma watched the other woman work. She allowed her mind to go blank and the rhythm Regina set as she made the desserts to fill her while she watched. It wasn't until the chicken was pulled out of the oven to cool and the pastries popped in to bake that a thought occurred to her. "There was a time I would have been really bothered that you were making apple turnovers."

"There was a time I would have made them simply to spite you," Regina smoothly replied in turn. She began to plate their dinners as she spoke. "But that was before." She turned with the full plates, placing one in front of Emma before settling on a stool opposite the other woman.

"Yeah," the blonde's lips twitched down. She carefully cut into her piece of chicken, allowing her mind to wander over all the thoughts and emotions running rampant through her.

"You're wrong." Regina's voice was harsh in the quiet. "It's not because your heart has a dark spot." She gave a smile and a small shake of her head at Emma's shocked look. "Don't look so surprised, dear." She tapped her chest on a spot just over her heart with the fingers of her free hand. "It goes both ways, you know, and I assure you it's not what you're thinking." Her smile softened as she spoke. "I made them tonight because I know you'll like them, and you're not afraid because you trust me." Tilting her head to the side, she asked in a voice that held hints of uncertainty, "Don't you?"

Emma's smile was bright. "Always."

Nodding her approval, Regina turned back to her dinner. "I don't know that we'll sleep much tonight. It's nearly 10, and we've slept most of the day. Our sleep patterns are completely askew."

"We could wear each other out," the blonde offered with a wink.

The older woman actually laughed, and the sound seemed to lighten the air around them. "I suppose we could. You might be the only person to share my bed with me that can outlast me."

Emma's smile turned arrogant, "That's because I'm awesome."

"I would argue the point," Regina countered, "but I can't say I have anything with which to form a basis to refute you."

"In other words, I'm right; you're wrong, and we should totally go for broke tonight." The sheriff's eyes gleamed with lust and humor.

Regina snorted. "You're incorrigible, Ms. Swan."

"You like it, Madam Mayor." With a quick flip of her wrist, Emma popped the last veggie into mouth and chortled at the other woman's look of horror for her lack of manners. "Admit it, you think my cockiness is sexy."

"Only if you admit you think my bitchiness is sexy." The brunette playfully raised an eyebrow in a dare as she cleared the table and pulled the turnovers out of the oven to cool.

"I never said it didn't." Emma stood and strolled over to help with the dishes. While they washed, she talked. "From the moment I laid eyes on you, one of my first thoughts was that your legs were incredible, your ass was a piece of art, and your attitude had me confused." At Regina's questioning look, she answered, "I wasn't sure if I hated you because you were such a bitch or if I thought you were the sexiest woman I'd ever met because you were a take-no-prisoners kind of bitch… or both." She waggled her eyebrows. "Come to find out, it was both."

The brunette rolled her eyes in mock exasperation. "Always so poetic."

"English was my favorite subject in school." Emma finished drying and putting away the last of the dishes. "I mean that."

"I believe you. I've seen what you read when you think no one is looking." Regina broke a turnover in half and handed one side to the sheriff. "The first time I saw you reading Hawthorne, I thought it was for show, but then I noticed you had moved on to other classics and some rather impressive contemporaries. As the months have progressed, I've seen you read everything from Natasha Trethewey, whom I believe is the current American poet Laureate, to Tess Gerritsen and everything in between. You have an impressive and expansive choice in reading material."

"I can't believe you even noticed." Sniffing at the turnover, Emma gave it careful consideration before blowing on it to cool it down even more. "Most of the time, you didn't even look my direction when you walked into Granny's."

"Just because it looked like I wasn't paying attention doesn't mean I wasn't. I still thought it was for show, but I kept an eye on it because you were around Henry, and I wanted to know what possible things you could be teaching him. It wasn't until Belle told me that you spent a lot of time in the library during your off hours that it occurred to me that you did, in fact, enjoy reading for the sake of reading." Taking the sheriff's lead, Regina blew on her own half of the turnover, frowning at how long it was taking for the pastry to cool.

Emma eyed the food in her hand, paying more attention to it than it warranted. "You know, I always wanted to go to college, but… well, first of all, I didn't have the money, and, honestly, I never really thought I was smart enough to make it." She grimaced as she glanced up.

"You don't give yourself enough credit, Emma." Regina gave her a soft but chastising look. "You're extremely intelligent. Book knowledge and intelligence are not the same thing, and I think you've firmly proven that you are intelligent. Me mocking your intelligence for so long ought to be proof enough that just the opposite of what I've said to you in anger and irritation is true."

The blonde chuckled. "I guess." She took a bite of the turnover and barely swallowed it before she was praising it. "Oh my God, this is the best thing I've ever put in my mouth."

Regina's eyebrow rose. "Is it?"

"Well," Emma rethought her comment, "maybe not  _the_  best thing, but the best  _food_  thing."

"See?" The older woman smiled approvingly. "I told you that you were intelligent. Good save, dear."

Around the mouthful of pastry, Emma grumbled, "I'd never have pegged you as the dirty minded kind of girl."

"Chew, swallow, talk." Regina rolled her eyes. "It must be genetic." With a frustrated huff, she took her last bite of turnover and swallowed it. "I would, and  _did,_ picture you as the kind of person that has the mindset of a teenage boy."

With a grin plastered across her face, Emma asked, "Are you complaining?"

"No," Regina shook her head and turned to put the turnovers away, "I can't say that I am."

"Good." Emma took the container from the other woman's hands and placed it in the fridge. "Because I noticed you have a piano, and I've always wanted to…"

"On my piano?!" The older woman's voice actually sounded scandalized. "Surely you can't be serious."

"If you put the top down on the piano, I'll show you  _exactly_  how serious I am," the blonde replied with a growl to her voice.

Narrowing her eyes, Regina seemed to consider it for a moment before heading toward the musical instrument in question. "But you're cleaning up any mess we might make."

"So worth it," Emma answered while she scampered to follow the brunette into the other room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I had to write a little fluff. I promise to hit plot again soon, but, honestly, I was jonesing for a fluffly Swan Queen moment, so I had to write it. I had to. Don't judge me


	10. Chapter 10

"Rumple," Belle carefully placed her steps as she made her way around the worktable at back of Gold's shop, "what  _are_ you going to do with Emma's ring?"

Holding the golden band between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand, he looked through it to Belle. "This, my dear, is the answer to a problem I've had for  _centuries._ This ring," he gave it a little shake for emphasis, "does, in fact, have magical properties. Snow White and her Prince Charming simply didn't know how to access those properties." He gently set it down on the table before him. "But  _I_ do."

"And what would those properties be?" Belle crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "What is so important that you would use extortion to get it? Rumple, you promised me you'd be better, that you would stop making these deals. What is so important to you that you'd break your promise to me?"

"Eva was not always the kind and benevolent ruler that her kingdom knew her to be." As he spoke, he began to carefully mix various liquids into a beaker. "In fact, in her younger years and just prior to marrying Leopold, she was quite the tart. Rude, self-centered, full of hubris, greedy, willing to do what it takes to get what she wanted," he gave a smirk and a shake of his head. "She was  _my_ kind of people back then." A grunt from Belle made him amend his comment to, "Well, back before I met you, of course."

She rolled her eyes at him. "And what does any of that have to do with this ring?"

He waited until the liquids in the beaker were thoroughly mixed together before he answered her. "Well, Leopold knew of his soon-to-be wife's little… personality quirks." He chuckled as if he'd made some kind of small joke. "Two days before his wedding, he asked the Blue Fairy to help young Eva know and come to accept her 'good' side."

"What do you mean by that?" Belle's face contorted in confusion. "Good side? Are you saying Eva was evil?"

"No, not necessarily." He gently placed the beaker full of liquid onto a burner on low heat and then turned to his companion. "The unique quality all humans have – be it humans from our land or humans from here – is that they all possess both good and evil within them. What makes a person good, or evil, is what they, themselves, choose to embrace, unless some other, outside, force pushes them in the other direction."

She frowned in thought. "So you're saying The Blue Fairy somehow 'pushed' Eva toward the 'good' side? How would she do that?  _Why_ would she do that? I thought The Blue Fairy couldn't interfere in that way?"

Gold tilted his head to the side and gave a little, mock confused look to her. "Now, who told you that?" Leaning back against his workstation, he crossed her arms and shrugged. "She, like me, has no real rules to follow except those of her own making and those that would unmake her. You'd be surprised what that little blue nuisance has been willing to do in the name of being 'helpful' and 'good'. Take this ring, for instance."

He reached behind him and picked it up again, holding it in his hand as he spoke. "This ring was her answer to Leopold's plea for a Queen who would help him to rule his kingdom fairly and wisely. It's enchanted, you see. Whoever wears this ring on their hand is bound to the enchantment."

She cocked an eyebrow. "Which would be?"

"Whoever bears this ring shall always default to the innate goodness for which their souls possess." He smiled as if he'd been triumphant in some great battle. "It prevents a person from wanting to lean toward and partake in their baser, darker desires."

"Rumple," Belle stepped forward, reaching out toward the ring and picking it up to have a better look at it. "Are you telling me this ring  _forces_  someone to be good?"

"Despite themselves, and they'd never know it wasn't their own choices. It was ingenious, really. One of The Blue Fairy's better gifts, if you ask me." He watched her as she eyed the piece of jewelry.

Belle finally looked back to him after a long moment of thought. "Why do you want it? If what Mary Margaret said was true, then Emma would have eventually given this ring to Regina, and wouldn't that solve many issues in town?"

"Perhaps, but it would cause a lot more." He turned to check the concoction on the burner, gave it a little stir, and then turned back around again. "Regina is a master work of time and energies. It'd be a waste for all of that talent to be suppressed under the guise of forcing her to be 'good'." Rolling his eyes, he reached forward and plucked the ring from Belle's grasp.

"Regina isn't some sort of science experiment." The young woman's voice was harsh with criticism. "You've got to stop this manipulation you've constantly applied to her. Don't you think it's time to give this all a rest?"

"What I think," Gold replied calmly as he pocketed the ring, "is that this ring would not serve anyone's interests well right now. The sheriff and her love are going to have to work through all of their toils and tribulations without the meddlesome help a trinket that was better off buried with its first owner."

"What are you not telling me?" Belle's eyes burned with anger. "What do you know? Something's going to happen with Emma and Regina, isn't? Something that  _that_ ring could fix. What are you preventing?" She shook her head. "No, what are you  _allowing_  to happen?"

Gold carefully pulled the heated mixture from the fire and set the hot beaker on a ceramic plate to cool. "I'm doing nothing but letting nature take its course."

For a time, she stood and scowled at him. When it was clear he wasn't going to say more, she gave one final hard look in his direction and walked away muttering to herself as she went.

* * *

"This isn't the first time she's killed," David said in a matter-of-fact tone over his lunch.

His wife looked up from her plate and frowned. "I know, but something's different now. I don't know if it's because of this connection she has with Regina or because she had to kill again or… I just don't know, but I  _feel_ it. Something is changing with Emma, and it's not good, David."

"You know, maybe we're not considering everything we should here?" He took a sip of his coffee as he thought. "We both know she hasn't gotten a lot of rest recently between her adventure into our land and then this whole Ursula thing. She has been under a lot of strain recently, and I'm sure the constant fighting with us regarding Regina probably isn't helping, and I can't think of anyone who is in a particularly great mood after having to take out another creature. I don't care how evil that creature was, you know it's hard to deal with it afterwards."

"So you're saying she's worn down?" Mary Margaret seemed to consider the idea. "But she's never been so harsh with Henry before, even when she's been exhausted. You heard what he said she told him when they were coming back to shore. I think Regina's influence is starting to show in Emma, and I'm worried. How can you  _not_ be?"

David stared into the space ahead of him. His eyes glazed over while he thought over the last few months. So much had changed, and he found himself growing tired of too many things to count. He sighed heavily before finally turning back to his wife. "We can't fight her battles for her." He grimaced as he added, "We never have, and, now that we actually can, she doesn't need that from us." Holding a hand up so he could finish uninterrupted, he said in a tired, wary voice, "Whatever happens to her, there's nothing we can do to stop it. We can only be there to help her if and when she's ready to accept our help, but that might be a very long time from now. Emma is used to not relying on anyone for help for anything. She's grown up having to protect herself, and you and I both know that hardheadedness runs in the family."

He gave a somewhat apologetic shrug for that last statement. "If she  _is_ moving toward some kind of darkness, I don't know that we  _can_ help her." Giving another heavy sigh, he finished in an equally heavy voice, "I don't think we'd even know how."

Mary Margaret's face was turbulent mixture of emotions. When she finally spoke, her voice cracked with her unspoken fears. "Who then?"

David took in a deep breath and placed a steady hand over his wife's where it rested on the tabletop. His voice was soft as he gently replied, "Her true love."

* * *

"Breathe, dear," Regina spoke in her ever calm and controlled voice. Her eyes were bright with concern and just a hint of amusement as she watched Emma pace the study.

"What do mean breathe? I  _am_ breathing." The blonde stopped pacing and glared at the older woman reclined on the sofa. "Don't you see me breathing?"

"Actually, I see you  _seething_ , but over what still remains a mystery to me." Regina took a sip of her coffee. "Care to tell me what's happened to make you so angry?"

"I stepped on a Lego," Emma began with an exasperated air, "nearly fell down the stairs, and recovered just in time to answer a call from Leroy, who, apparently, thought it was a good idea to demand I arrest you for assault after  _he_ broke into  _your_ house."

"Ah," the brunette raised an eye brow, "bad day."

"I'm supposed to have the week off!" The blonde was practically shouting. "Why can't they leave me the fu…"

"Stop." This time, the only thing in Regina's voice was alarm, which quickly went away to be replaced with her usual calmness. "Consider your words and actions carefully."

The sheriff blinked at her. "What? All I'm saying is that, if they want you arrested so badly, then they can do it themselves. I'm so tired of their inane whining all of the time. Half the time, the stuff they're complaining about doesn't even matter, and the other half of the time I just don't care."

"Is that so?" Carefully setting the coffee cup down on the side table, Regina stood to begin to make her way to the other woman. Her voice was careful as her steps while she asked, "What would prefer to do, then?"

"I don't know." Emma's nostrils flared as her anger peaked again. "Put them all out of my misery and lock them all up?"

Regina stopped a few feet away from the younger woman. Tilting her head to the side as she crossed her arms, she asked in that same careful tone, "Do you really mean that?"

"Hell yes, I do." The blonde practically snarled. "If they were all better controlled, we wouldn't have all these problems. If I could get enough of them to stop acting like idiots, then life would be a lot easier for everyone…  _especially_ me."

"And how, precisely, would you do that?" Regina narrowed her eyes as she watched the other woman.

"Lock up Leroy and throw away the key. He's the ringleader most of the time. Between his temper, his drinking, and his overall attitude, it'd set an example of what happens to people who… who…" Emma's voice faltered and then faded. Eyes growing large and skin paling, she took in large breaths of air before she spoke again. "Oh my God. I don't mean any of that. I mean, I  _do_ , but I  _don't_. I'm not… I don't… I would  _never_ …"

"I know." Regina let her arms drop to her sides, and reached forward to take Emma by the hand and lead her back to the sofa. Once they were both seated and facing each other, Regina did the only thing she could think of to help. She spoke from experience. "Eventually, you'll learn how to tell the difference between when you're having a darker moment and when the level of anger you have is truly justified, but it will take some time."

"I don't understand this." Emma ran a hand down her face. "I killed Maleficent, and I didn't have this problem. Why  _now_? Is it because of our connection? Did it make something worse that otherwise would have been fine? What is it? What's happening to me?"

"No," Regina gave a slow, sad shake of her head, "it's not our connection. I believe the darkness likely started with Maleficent, and then it became worse with Ursula."

"And now it's to a point where I notice it, and it's become harder for me to control?" Emma's eyes were tired.

"Yes." Resting her hand between them in an offer should the other want the comfort, Regina tried to maintain her composure, though her empathy to Emma's current situation made it difficult. "What can I do?"

Emma snorted. "Never let me go out in public again?"

"And deprive the world of that lovely head of golden princess curls of yours? Never." A tiny smirk appeared on Regina's lips.

The sheriff rolled her eyes. "Keep doing what you're doing so I can learn to catch it before I do something really bad?"

Regina nodded. " _That_  I can do."

"Not be too mad at me if I accidentally make a scene tonight when we go on our date?" Emma's face was full of preemptive apologies.

"Consider yourself already forgiven," the brunette answered in a soothing, patient voice.

Emma nodded. "Hold me for a little while and don't judge me if I start crying?"

"I would never judge you," the brunette answered as she rearranged herself and opened her arms expectantly. As the younger woman settled down against her, Regina tightly wrapped her arms around the shaking frame of the one person in any land and in any time to make the former queen want to be a better person if only to ensure the continued happiness of the person no quietly sobbing in her embrace. Placing a kiss on Emma's temple, she whispered, "We'll get you through this, I promise."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bet you guys forgot about that ring, didn't you? ;-)


	11. Chapter 11

"What I don't understand," Emma said in a brisk voice as she and Regina made their way toward the entrance to Granny's Diner, "is why you didn't conjure up more than one place to go eat in this town. I mean, didn't it occur to you that we might want to go someplace nicer than the diner occasionally?"

"In my defense," the brunette answered while she held the door open for them both, "in our land, there was usually only one place one could 'go out to eat', and that was the local tavern, which also served as the place travelers might be able to find refuge for the night if they could afford the cost of the room. There's no reason for it to have ever occurred to me that we would need more than this." She shrugged as they both came to a stop just inside to wait to be seated.

"So the local tavern became the town's Bed & Breakfast?" The sheriff chuckled. "I guess I can see it. I mean, half the stuff in this town has double meanings for who or what it was in the other land. Archie  _Hopper_  equals Jiminy Cricket,  _Ruby_  equals  _Red_ Riding Hood," she held up a hand and ticked off fingers while she continued to run through the list forming in her head. "The  _mayor_  was the  _queen_ , the  _huntsman_ was the town's  _sheriff.._."

"And Mr. Gold was the golden skinned Rumpelstiltskin who spun straw into gold," Ruby smiled at the two women, both dressed in what were clearly date night clothes. "Granny and I were just talking about that very same thing this morning. I mean, once you get passed the whole entire-town-being-cursed-into-unhappy-endings thing, the naming system and where we all wound up working is actually really clever." She pulled two menus. Giving a wink at the annoyed looked both women were shooting her she turned to walk and talk. "I have a corner booth with your name on it, ladies."

As the two slid into the booth, Ruby set the menus down and gave them both her best approving smile. "We have a special tonight that I think would be perfect for you. It's a spiced duck breast with poached rhubarb, braised daikon, and chives. It's served with a side of white asparagus with confit kumquat and yuzu hollandaise sauce, and it's large enough to share. What do you think?"

"I think that Granny's ability to cook five star meals in a half star kitchen has never stopped shocking the crap out of me," Emma mumbled more to herself than as an answer to Ruby's suggestion. "Sounds good, though. I mean, what of it I understood."

"It sounds decadent." Regina's smile was small but genuine. Looking to the blonde, she asked more than declared, "I think we should order that."

"Yeah, okay," the sheriff nodded and handed both menus back to Ruby. "And a bottle of," Emma gave it a few seconds' thought, "Pinot Noir. Something from 2012?" She glanced over to a very surprised looking brunette. "What? Just because I guzzle my coffee doesn't mean I don't understand the concept of the finer things in life."

"You're a wine drinker," the older woman said with a hint of wonder in her voice. "I would not have predicted that."

Ruby finished writing down the order, and, with her happy, approving smile still in place, whispered, "I'll leave you two ladies alone."

"You look lovely tonight, Emma," Regina said as her eyes ran over the stunning red dress the blonde wore. Strapless and sleeveless with a wonderful slit along the side that showed off the impressive legs and gorgeous matching heels the other woman wore, the dress was the most striking outfit Regina had ever seen the sheriff wear. "It suits you."

Looking down so that her curls fell slightly over her face to hide the blush she could feel coming over her features and highlighting the paleness of her complexion, Emma managed to mumble a very demure thank you before turning the compliment back around. "But I don't look half as good as you do." She looked up through her eyelashes to her companion. "You always look stunning, Regina."

The brunette raised an eyebrow, and her own blush threatened to spread across her face. "Even when I'm doing horribly unspeakable things?" Though the question could have been taken very seriously, the lightness in her voice belayed any possibility of that happening.

Emma looked up, eyes sparkling, and leaned forward to place a hand atop Regina's as she whispered in a deep, husky voice, " _Especially_  then."

The blush that had been threatening Regina with its presence finally burst forth, and she could feel her ears warm with its presence. She looked down at the classic little black dress with the extra show of cleavage and gave herself a mental pat on the back for her choice for the evening. She'd worn the dress for Graham a few times, but, as she felt Emma's eyes run over her, she realized it had been wasted on him. It was very likely Regina would never wear it for anyone else but Emma again, and she was perfectly fine with that fact.

"Ladies," Ruby's voice brought them back from the little self-contained world they had created in their back corner booth. "I have your wine." She popped the cork and handed it to Emma, who smelled it, nodded, and waited for a glass. Ruby poured a very small amount and passed it to the waiting woman. Emma rolled the red wine around the glass for a bit, breathed in the aroma again, and then took a very tiny sip. Ruby waited patiently.

Emma frowned. "Are you sure this a 2012?"

Ruby motioned down to the bottle in her hands. "It is."

"It seems young." The blonde took another sip. "But I like it. It'll do, Ruby. Thank you."

Giving a little shrug and trying, though failing, to not pull a 'whatever' face, Ruby poured two glasses and then left the bottle on the table.

"I cannot believe you're a wine aficionado." Regina slowly shook her head from side to side, allowing her disbelief to fully show on her features. "What else don't I know about you, Ms. Swan?"

"Many things, Madam Mayor," Emma purred from behind her wine glass. "But I'm hoping we can fix that."

"Oh," it was Regina's turn to lean over the table in a seductive pose as she reached a free hand out to wipe a drop of wine from Emma's suddenly parted lips, "I intend to."

The spell was broken by the harsh, roaring, and very slurred voice of Leroy. "Get a room!"

Both women sat back in their places. Their jaws visibly flexed with the effort to not say or something that would escalate the situation. "See? This is what I'm talking about," Emma said in a low voice. "If we had more than two places to go to when on a date, this wouldn't be happening right now."

They both ignored the dwarf as best they could as he came rambling toward their booth. The rest of the patrons were clearly not following their lead, and all eyes in the place were trained on them to see what would happen next.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Ms. Swan," Regina spat out under her breath. "Would you have preferred we go to the Rabbit Hole instead?"

Emma's face lightened and she smirked. "Well, I  _do_ have this one fantasy that involves you, me, a pool table, and…"

" _Emma_ ," the brunette hissed, "now is really not the time."

"Are you sure? Maybe if we ignore him, he'll go away?" Even as the sheriff said the words, she knew it wasn't true. The dwarf was already stopping at their table.

"What is this?" He bellowed. "Are you two  _on a date_?" He looked around the room at the other people as if they were all involved in some kind of roundtable discussion. "Can you believe this? Emma is  _supposed_ to be the Savior and our  _sheriff_."

Emma didn't so much as wince at the implied insults in Leroy's tone. Her anger, however, at the scene he was causing was building by the moment, and it was taking everything her in to not fight back.

The small man's voice roared on. "Some Savior  _you_ are. You're… you're… cavorting with the enemy. That's what you're doing!" He was clearly beyond drunk. "Do you see her?" He looked around again as he pointed at the table where the two women were still quietly seated. " _How_ are you supposed to  _protect_ us when you're with her, huh?" He swayed a bit where he stood. Managing to hold his arm up to point at Regina, he once again look about the room as he asked in a loud, grating voice, "How're we supposed to trust you, to trust that you're going to  _protect_ us when you fuc…."

He never finished the sentence. The moment the last work started to come out of his mouth, Emma swiftly stood up in her deep red, high heeled shoes and promptly forced her fist across his face.

The diner went completely still. No one so much as breathed.

"Not another word, Leroy." Emma's voice was low with warning. Her hands balled into fists at her sides, and her breathing came in short bursts as she attempted to control her temper.

"Or what?" He pushed himself up to lean on his hands so that he wasn't completely flat on his back on the floor. "You'll  _arrest_ me? For telling the truth?" He made a raspberry sound.

"No," she shook her head slowly from side to side as she leaned over the man. "I won't arrest you."

"Emma," Regina's voice was soft. Standing up, she placed a gentle hand on the other woman's arm. "We can go elsewhere."

"We're not doing this, Regina." The blonde never took her eyes from the dwarf on the floor. "We've fought too hard to get where are right now, and I'm not going to let some drunk fool with a chip on his shoulder ruin this." Glancing around the room, she made eye contact with several very stunned patrons. " _Get that?_ We're not playing this gossip game, and no one is going to guilt me into turning my back on her. Everyone knows where I stand. Everyone knows what Mary Margaret did, and, by now, you all probably know everything that happened after that, too. This," she reached her free hand over to place it on Regina's where it rested on her arm, "isn't going away any more than Snow White and Prince Charming's is. Like it or don't. I don't care. But you  _are_ going to deal with it." She looked back down to Leroy, who had yet to even attempt to move. "You understand me?"

"I don't have to do  _jack_ ," the drunken man spat back. "And there's  _nothing_  you can do about it, just like you won't do anything about the fact that she," he nodded to Regina, "nearly killed me a few nights ago."

Emma practically screamed. "You broke into her house and were digging through her personal items!"

"Because  _she_ stole Mary Margaret's heart, and David and I were looking for it," he blurrily countered.

"Yeah, and that happened because my parents, in their infinite wisdom, couldn't mind their own damned business and tried to keep me from even so much as being around Regina," the sheriff countered, body tensing more with her building rage.

"Hey! Your parents were only trying to protect you," he said as he stood up on wobbling legs. "You're so naïve someone has to do it. You have no idea what that witch is capable of doing. She's dangerous, and she doesn't love you or anyone else. You mark my words, girl. The Evil Queen  _uses_ people, and Snow White was doing what she had to do to protect you from yourself."

Emma ignored the hand on her arm trying to pull her back. Stepping into Leroy's personal space, she used her height, her voice, and her very presence as a means to accentuate the next words that rolled from her in a smooth, cool tone. "One more word, dwarf, and I will destroy you."

If the diner had been silent before, it was as still as death now. Jaws dropped, eyes widened, and confusion ripped through the public space. Many things people expected from their Savior, but threats of destruction were not one of them.

The shock of the threat was enough to silence the dwarf, and he stared up at her as if she had physically slapped him.

It was Regina's voice that broke the stunned silence. "Emma," she whispered, though she could be heard throughout the small diner, "you don't really mean that."

"Right now," the blonde replied in that same cool, collected voice, "I really do." Her gazed leveled on the dwarf.

"If I were you," Regina looked to Leroy, "I would leave.  _Now_."

He swung to look at the brunette. "You can't tell me…"

"You have no idea what kind of fire you're playing with, dwarf." Regina's voice remained quiet, but, mixed with her anger and irritation, there was an earnestness no one had heard before. It was enough for them all to take note. "Things have changed. It's no longer a wise idea to set Ms. Swan on edge as you're so accustomed to doing." She heard a gasp from the other side of the room, and her eyes swung to Emma. She could see the sparks of magic radiating from the blonde's still clinched fists. "If you value the quality of your life," she said as she brought her eyes back to him, "I suggest you make a hasty retreat and don't crawl out from under your rock until sometime tomorrow."

Glancing down to Emma, Leroy saw the building tension in the sheriff's body and the glow that was beginning to surround her hands. The glow held a luminescent quality, like a flame, and he immediately recognized it for what it was. He'd seen that same glow plenty of times form around The Evil Queen's hand before he found himself being nursed by his fellow dwarves for second degree burns.

Swallowing hard, he nodded and turned to make a beeline for the door, exiting as quickly as he could and leaving the mess he'd just created behind for others to clean up.

Regina attempted to do the best she could with the situation. Knowing that all eyes were on them and all ears trained on their conversation, she asked simply, "What can I do?"

Through a tight jaw, Emma answered in an equally tight voice, "Can you make it go away?"

"No, dear, I cannot, though I wish I could." Regina stepped around so they faced each other. She ran her hands down the blonde's arms until she found the other woman's clenched fists. Taking Emma's hands in her own and pulling them up to chest level between them, she gently coaxed the younger woman. "I can ground you. Open your hands for me."

Emma slowly shook her head. "If I do that, I don't know that I can control it."

"It will be fine," the older woman assured, keeping her eyes locked with the blonde's. "Trust me, Emma."

Nodding and licking her very dry lips, Emma answered meekly, "Always," as she slowly opened her hands to intertwine her fingers with Regina's. The flame that immediately sprang to life as Emma opened her hands engulfed their clasped hands, and, for a moment, it burned brightly between them. "It's not black."

"No, it's not," Regina assured her. "It's still both, and so it shall always be. Let it go, Emma. Don't trust what you know not to be true."

Emma swallowed hard and then took in a deep breath. Letting it slowly out, she concentrated on letting go of the dark feelings that were trying to consume her. With the end of the breath, the flames between them died. "It lies now, doesn't it?"

The meaning was clear to Regina. Emma meant her heart, and it pained the older woman to hear the sadness that laced the question. "Yes," she whispered, her voice mirroring her internal pain at what was happening to the other woman.

The blonde nodded. "Okay," she said in a shaky breath, "I'm okay now. I just… I need to sit down, I think."

Regina led her to her seat and helped her slide in before she turned to her audience. "Would it be acceptable for us to finish our meal now, or would you prefer we left?" She asked the assembled group of diner patrons, and, though her voice held no malice or sarcasm, it took a moment for them to realize she was sincere in her question.

Granny called out from her place behind the bar she had taken up when the scene began, "Leroy started it. Emma finished it. I think we can all leave it at that." She looked to her customers. "Can't we?" Most nodded in agreement and some murmured a yes. Granny Lucas nodded. "You'll stay with her?"

Regina took in a deep, calming breath. "Of course," she answered in her best mayoral tone. "I would never leave her."

Though the tension in the room was palatable and the stress level high, the reassurance was oddly calming to the mass, who seemed to take it as being enough for them to turn back to their own evening meals. Regina took that as her cue to slide back into her place at the booth, and, though an occasional glance was thrown in their direction, no one blatantly watched them or seemed to stare at them.

"This will be all over town by tomorrow morning," Emma groaned as she wiped a hand over her face.

"Sooner." Regina pointed to her phone where it rested atop the table. "Modern technology is faster than the best gossip I've ever known."

"When  _are_ you going to let Sidney out of the crazy house?" Emma gave a little smirk.

"Never. Trust me, dear, you don't want him out. He's," the brunette pursed her lips in mock thought, "not stable."

"You could make the same argument for me," the younger woman said in a deflated tone.

"But I love you," Regina said with a smile playing on her lips, "and your unstable meshes nicely with my own."

"I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing," Emma sighed. "I guess I'll take it."

The older woman shrugged. "It simply is."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One heck of a date night, huh?


	12. Chapter 12

"It's not that I ask for much," Emma bemoaned as Regina pulled the Mercedes into the driveway, "but couldn't I go just  _one_  full day without having to listen to Mary Margaret lecture me on something  _or_ having to spend it saving the town, the townspeople, my family, or some combination from something horrible and life threatening?"

Despite the late hour, two people could easily be seen sitting on the house's front porch. Regina smirked. "My, news  _does_ travel fast, doesn't it?"

"Man," the sheriff whined, "can't you do that thing you can do, and poof us into the house?"

"No," Regina rolled her eyes. "I cannot. I'm not going to use my magic just to avoid your parents. That's a precedent I'd rather not set. Besides, I'm tired, and the energy it would require to transport both of us inside the house would probably knock me out until midday tomorrow."

Emma groaned. "You know what I was hoping for?" The younger woman didn't even bother to wait for a reply. "At least another eight solid, non-Snow White, hours before the axe fell from tonight's disaster at Granny's. I figured we'd at least be able to come home, take a bath together, and do some other stuff together before they showed up tomorrow morning and banged on the door." An extremely roguish grin spread over her face. "One of us would have to roll out of bed, pull on whatever was on the floor that would work to cover up, and answer the door to tell them to go away."

Regina chuckled as she parked the car. "How long have you had  _that_ particular fantasy?"

"I started having that one while I was stuck in the Enchanted Forest." The sheriff's eyes sparkled with mischief. "What? Don't look so surprised. I've already told you that I thought you were hot from the moment I first laid eyes on you."

"It's not that," the brunette lightly protested. "It's more that I'm surprised you had a single positive thought about me while trapped in the land that I was responsible for destroying." She winced. "After seeing the destruction I wrought, the devastation I caused to your family, your land, and your people, I can't imagine you'd have a single positive thought about me."

" _This_ land is my home, Regina, and  _you're_ my family." Emma sighed as she opened the car door to step out into the night and toward the inevitable fight she was about to have with her parents. As they made their way toward the front steps, she said in a steady, assured voice, "I am not a Charming."

"No," the older woman intoned quietly enough only her companion could hear her, "you are not."

* * *

"Emma," Mary Margaret's voice bordered on shrill. Quickly standing up from her spot on the front porch, she charged toward the two women who were walking toward the front door. "What is going on? I've gotten I don't know how many phone calls and text messages telling me that you punched Leroy, threatened his life, and nearly set him on fire."

"Yeah," her daughter sounded neither sorry nor upset. Instead, she sounded annoyed. "That's not exactly right, but it's close enough." She didn't bother to stop walking. Stepping around the pixie haired brunette, Emma pulled a key from her purse and opened the front door. She waited for Regina to walk through and then followed her in, not bothering nor seeming to care if their uninvited guests followed.

"That's all you're going to say?" They clearly followed. Mary Margaret stormed forward and grabbed her daughter by the arm to stop her and turn her around.

Emma obliged, but her face made it clear she was none too happy at being forced into this confrontation at this very moment. Her voice was cold as she asked, "Is there something else you want me to say?"

Behind the sheriff, Regina watched the exchanged between mother and daughter. Unsure if she should interrupt or let the interaction play itself out, she was sure that whatever happened next would probably end in property damage if how Emma reacted to Mary Margaret's nosiness was anything like how The Evil Queen reacted to Snow White's intrusions.

Regina looked to David, who stood opposite her and behind his wife. His expression showed confusion and concern, and, when he met her gaze, she realized that he was likely thinking the same thing she was. She raised her eyebrows as if to ask what he thought they should do. He gave a shake of his head a shrug of his shoulders as if to say her guess was as good as his.

The interaction took only a few seconds, but it was enough time for them both to miss the next few exchanges between Mary Margaret and Emma. When Regina tuned back in, she managed to catch the end of Emma's last reply.

"… it's not like I can just turn this off, Mary Margaret. You need to cut me some slack. No one ever  _asked_ me if I wanted to do  _any_ of this. No one  _asked_ me if I wanted to take on the role of saint for this damned town. Hell, no one ever  _asks_ me anything  _at all_. All any of you ever do is tell me what I should do and demand I do it with a smile. Well, let me tell you something, I tired of that bullshit. You don't get to…"

" _I_ am your  _mother_ ," the smaller woman bellowed back. "I'll do whatever I think is needed to keep you safe. You had a destiny, Emma. There's nothing any of us could do about that, but, now that you've done what you were meant to do, you need direction, and you're going in the  _wrong direction_. Threatening people? Using magic? Snapping at Henry? That's not you. That's not who you are."

"How do you know?" Emma's voice thundered through the quiet house. "You don't know." Her voice dropped down to a threatening growl. "You don't know anything about me. You have this expectation in your head about how you think I should be because I'm  _your_  daughter, the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, but," she took a step forward, and David's eyes grew large as he saw a spark of magic roll through his daughter's eyes, "I  _am not_ a Charming." Emma towered over her mother. Her voice rolled thickly and menacingly through the air. "I am not that girl."

David looked at Regina, and she quickly realized something very wrong was happening that she couldn't see from her vantage point. She began to slowly and carefully make her way around the women arguing in the foyer until she came to a stop beside David. She saw the magic swirling in Emma's eyes, the tension in the younger woman's jaw, and she realized with a start that the hate she felt boiling up within her chest for Snow White wasn't her own. It was Emma's.

"You need to take your wife and leave, prince," Regina said as quietly as she could. "And you need to keep her away from Emma until Emma can learn to fully control her emotions."

"How do I do that without making things worse?" David's own jaw flexed with stress. While his wife and daughter continued to argue, he considered his options. Never taking his eyes off of the woman before him, he asked in a serious tone, "What do I tell my wife that will keep her from trying to get to our daughter?"

Her eyes, too, never left the fight before them, and the former queen's face held a look full of empathy. If anyone understood the tenacity of Snow White, it was she. Speaking just loudly enough to be heard over the fighting, she calmly responded, "You tell her that her life is at stake if she continues to…  _Emma, no!"_

Regina rushed forward to stop the blonde, but it was too late. Emma's hand buried itself deeply inside her mother's chest, and her eyes burned with a white flame tinged in black. As David and Regina rushed to either side of the women, Mary Margaret gasped in pain and surprise.

Regina reached the two in time to place her hand on Emma's arm to keep her from withdrawing her hand. "You don't want to do this," she said in a calm, steady, emotionless voice.

David's eyes grew wide with shock. "How?"

"Perhaps we share more than our emotions. Perhaps we've managed to share knowledge as well?" Regina answered casually, as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening. "Magic can be unpredictable." Though she answered the unspoken questions in the room, her eyes never left Emma's face. "You're hurting her," she said quietly.

Emma's eyes burned with rage, and her chest heaved with the effort to take in enough air. Jaw clinched, body tense, and voice burning with malice, she replied simply, "I know."

"It won't do, dear," Regina continued in that same calm, collected voice while her hand remained in a vice grip on Emma's arm. "Who will watch Henry for us when we want alone time?" The question would have been hilarious had the situation not been so dire.

The blonde raised an eye brow. "Ruby?"

"Not on a full moon. He's just about big enough for an appetizer, assuming he doesn't thin out more between then and now," Regina replied in a matter of fact voice.

"Granny?"

"She's been feeding him too much pie. He won't have a chance to thin out."

"Archie?"

"The  _bug_? Really?"

"Mother Superior?"

"You want to put our son in a convent full of nothing but women who have taken vows of chastity? No, I think not."

Emma made a face as if to say 'fair enough' before glancing to her side. "David?"

Regina pursed her lips in thought. "I hardly think he'd be very good at taking care of Henry if he's mourning his true love's death, do you?"

Mary Margaret blinked her eyes rapidly and tried to take in air. The pressure in her chest was heavy and, though not excruciating, it was painful. Disbelief colored her perception of events. In any lifetime, she would never have dreamed her daughter would be seconds away from ripping her heart out, yet here they stood, and the only person able to prevent it from happening was The Evil Queen.

She closed her eyes and swallowed hard as she mentally corrected herself. Not The Evil Queen. Regina Mills, her daughter's true love, and that is when David's words earlier hit her. There was no chance she would ever be able to get through to her daughter, and, in the most ironic twist of her life, the woman who had literally cursed an entire land simply to spite Snow White was the only person who could save Mary Margaret.

Mary Margaret found that, in that moment where time was standing still, she found she couldn't really blame Regina for the situation they all found themselves in. There was a lot of blame to go around, but it didn't all fall on Regina. This time, a lot of it fell on her, too.

"Emma, please," the pixie brunette pleaded in a strained voice. "I'm sorry."

"What?" The younger woman's eyes snapped to attention as she looked down her nose at mother.

"I'm sorry," Mary Margaret managed to say again. "We shouldn't have come here tonight."

Emma narrowed her eyes. "Why?"

"Because you don't need us," the other woman answered, tone pained for more than one reason.

"I told you to leave me alone," her daughter said, though her voice was beginning to lose its maliciousness.

"And so they shall," Regina soothed in her own way, "as soon as you release your hold on your mother's heart."

"I don't know if I can," Emma replied, and, this time, there was a hint of panic coloring her words

Regina quickly looked to David, eyes more nervous than he'd ever seen them. "Of course you can." Keeping her hand where it was on Emma's arm, she turned so she and the blonde stood side-by-side and face-to-face with Mary Margaret. Making eye contact with the other brunette, Regina frowned in a display that screamed she was sorry for what she was about to do. "Let me help you, dear."

In a smooth motion, she ran the hand on Emma's arm forward and into Mary Margaret's chest. A second later, she pulled back, taking Emma's hand with her and leaving Mary Margaret's heart behind.

Emma's eyes fell to their joined hands. "That had to be hard to do."

"You have no," Regina stopped herself because Emma  _did_ know. "If I can't kill Snow White, you certainly aren't allowed."

"I don't know how long I can do this," Emma closed her eyes and pulled her hand free. Letting her arms drop to her sides, she again balled her fists up as she fought for control.

Regina took the chance to clear the room. "Leave. I'll contact you once it's safer for you to be here."

Mary Margaret's face held all of the disheartened and regretful emotions she felt. "Regina, I…"

"Go." The former mayor flicked her wrist and the front door flew open. "And don't come back unless you're invited."

David grabbed his wife by the arm, pulled her out the front door, and Regina flicked her wrist again to close it soundly behind them.

"Oh my God," Emma groaned after a few silently tense moments had passed, "I was going to kill my mother."

"You would not be the first," Regina answered with a frown.

Emma turned, anger causing the color to rush back to her face. "This isn't funny, Regina!"

"And I'm not laughing, dear." The older woman held a hand up to stop any further reactions. "Standing here won't do us any good. Let's take that bath. I think we could both use a little time to distress, don't you?"

The sheriff blinked, trying to catch up. "I just had my hand buried in Mary Margaret's chest, and I was about two seconds from ripping her heart out, which, by the way, I really don't understand how I'm able to do, and you're suggesting we just forget all of that and take a bath?"

"No," Regina rolled her eyes. "I'm suggesting we take a bath to calm down. I never said we were going to forget what happened here, but you're forgetting how much experience I have in matters such as these. Talking will do you no good until you've calmed down enough to process. The very fact that you continue to want to fight should be evidence enough that I'm correct about this."

"I… you…" Emma started and stopped a few times before letting out a heavy sigh and dropping her head a bit. "Okay," her voice was tired, broken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a lot harder to write than I thought it would be. Forcing a character you like to spiral is... emotionally draining.


	13. Chapter 13

Mary Margaret buried her face in her hands as she sat on her sofa. "I just don't know what to do, David."

Her husband sat beside her, eyes looking down at the coffee table. "I don't think there is anything you can, or  _I_ can do."

"But she's in trouble. She's hurting. She's…"

"You said it yourself. She doesn't need us, and we can't help her." He sighed. "I never thought the day would come when Regina would be the one saving us from our own daughter." A humorless chuckle escaped his throat.

"I want this to all be her fault," the brunette said in a tone that was heavy with wariness. Leaning back into the sofa, she let out a weighty sigh. "But it's not, is it?"

"Well, I guess it depends on how you look at it." David turned to sit at an angle so he could get a better look at his wife. "I mean, on one hand, she  _did_ curse all of us, which, if she hadn't, then Emma would never have been raised without a family and we would never have been in this mess to begin with."

"Yes, true," Mary Margaret inclined her head to his point. "But, if I'd kept my mouth shut and never told my father how much I'd love to have Regina as a mother or never told Cora about Daniel, then none of this would have happened, either."

He shrugged. "But you were too young to really know what type of consequences your action would bring. Cora manipulated you to get the information she wanted."

"It's just a big blame game, isn't it?" Mary Margaret rolled her eyes and pulled a hand through her hair. "I suppose it doesn't really matter who is at fault. We all have blame here, and, at this point, I'm not even sure that the blame is heavier for one of us than it is for the other."

He stood and walked to their kitchen to pour a glass of water. "You know, I would still blame Regina for Emma's behavior right now if it weren't for what people said happened at the diner and then what happened at Regina's house tonight."

"She could still be trying to manipulate something to gain an upper hand," Mary Margaret countered, but her tone said she had no real belief in what she was saying.

"If she'd let Emma take your heart tonight, then I'd say you were right." David came back with two glasses of water. He handed one to his wife and then sipped at his own as he settled back into his seat.

"You don't think their connection has anything to do with Emma's behavior, do you?" She stared down into her half-filled glass of water.

"I think that our daughter has always had the potential to go either way." At his own words, he winced but continued on with his train of thought. "She lived her early life as a thief and liar. She was wild and selfish. Who knows how she would have ended up if she hadn't been caught and thrown in jail. Can you imagine?" David carefully set his glass down on the coffee table. "She wasn't living the life of a person full of good intentions."

"She was living the life of a person focused on only their own wants and needs." Mary Margaret finished his train of thought for him. "David," her voice was grim, "what if two rights make a wrong?"

He narrowed his eyes and tried to understand, but nothing came. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well," his wife set her own glass down beside his and turned to face him, "you have always been a good man, and I have always tried to do the right thing. Our love is true. As people keep reminding us, true love is the most powerful magic in our world. Many have argued that you and I are symbolically the very essence of what 'good' means, and, in theory, our daughter, as the product of our love, should be nothing but good, regardless of her upbringing. Right?"

His voice held caution. "I suppose."

"But what if it doesn't work that way? What if… what is that saying? When a fire burns too brightly the only thing left behind are ashes." Her face was grim and her eyes shone with unshed tears.

"Are you saying," David tilted his head in thought, "that because we're both 'good' then Emma isn't?"

"Or at least she isn't fully. Maybe… maybe the people in this world have it right when they say there has to be a balance of good and evil in the world. Maybe the product of true love isn't something purely good but something to balance out the world."

"I don't like what you're saying here." He gave a shake of his head. "I think we're tired, and we've been through a lot over the past few days. Look, Henry's with Ruby and Granny tonight. Why don't we try to get some sleep, and tomorrow maybe things will look better? We'll go get Henry, take him to school, and then…"

"What? Pretend like there's nothing going wrong with our daughter?" She rolled her eyes at him, disdain playing across her face. "I need to know, David."

He glowered at her. "The only person who could answer that question is Gold. Do we really want to involve him again?"

"Do we really have a choice? If I'm right, then he might know of a way to help her." She stood up, eyes pleading with her husband. "We have to try. We can't just sit by and do nothing while Emma spirals."

David was silent for a long time. He looked up into the pleading face of his wife as he considered the ramifications of her newest considerations and what it would mean to reveal those ideas to Gold. He also considered what it might mean to Emma if Mary Margaret was correct and what it would mean for him if he refused his wife.

Sighing, he stood and took his wife's hands. "Okay," he nodded, "tomorrow after we take Henry to school, we'll go see Gold."

She gave him a weak smile. "Thank you."

* * *

"Did you hear what happened tonight at Granny's?" Belle's voice was tense.

"Good evening to you, too," Gold said without bothering to look up from the pile of old parchments he was sorting. Standing at the counter in his shop, he leaned over his work and continued to look at each piece with a delicately trained eye.

"Don't 'good evening' me, Rumple. You knew this would happen, didn't you? It's not just about wearing the ring on your hand. It's about wearing the ring, period. Isn't it?" Her voice was full of accusation.

"You know," he slowly stood up to look her in the eye, "I would think you of all people would appreciate me taking away something that forcibly bound a person to do something that was against their will."

Belle's jaw flexed and her eyes narrowed. "Don't play that game with me. We talked about this. You said you wouldn't interfere, but you are. If Emma turns…"

" _If_ Emma does anything," he interrupted her, his voice teetering on being angry, "then she will do so through her own free will and without the influence of anything besides that which comes naturally to any person."

She huffed. "And that would be what, exactly?"

Gold tilted his head and smiled. "That would be whatever you've learned from life, the influence of those around you, and what's in your heart, of course."

"You're still not telling me everything." Belle stepped into his personal space, and her body vibrated with suppressed outrage. "Tell me."

"My dear," he voice was again relaxed. "There is nothing to tell. I took the ring as payment. Anything that happens to Ms. Swan or our dear, former mayor has nothing to do with me. Whatever happens is their own doing."

"Oh my god," Belle stepped back, horrified. "You think they're going to kill each other, don't you?"

"I think," he said as he turned back to his parchment sorting activity, "is that I'm allowing nature to take its course."

"This is insane. How can you stand there and allow this to happen to them? What have they…"

"You dare to ask me that question?" He turned on her, anger burning his words. "You know  _precisely_  the things they've done. I owe nothing to either of them, and, if the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming is as strong as everyone in this town thinks she is, nothing will happen that is of any consequence. And  _you_ ," he took a step toward her, "will stay out of this. This is not any of either your concern or mine. Emma Swan needs to know herself, and now is the time."

Belle shook her head, stepping up to meet his unspoken threat. "Emma is my friend, and I can't just sit back and watch her self-destruct if there's something I can do to stop it."

"And do you really think Ms. Swan would be open to wearing a ring that she knows is manipulating her? Keeping her from being true to herself?" He gave a dark chuckle. "I'd like to see you try to convince her to do such a thing."

The small woman deflated. "I could… I could give the ring back to her without telling her."

"And who would be the master manipulator then?" He raised an eyebrow in question.

"There's got to be something we can do," she lamented.

"There is," he said with a bounce to his word, "we can watch and wait." With a final tilt of his head to indicate he was done with the conversation, he returned to his work.

* * *

A happy hum escaped Emma's throat as she slid down beneath the covers of Regina's bed. She took a moment to appreciate the super smooth feel of the linens, the wonderful softness of the mattress, and the smell that surrounded her that was a pleasant mix of the detergent Regina used to wash, the cinnamon apple body spray she was fond of wearing, and that scent that was simply Regina.

It was a comforting experience.

After spending the past few weeks either sleeping in the guest bed, on the ground somewhere, or trying to desperately to rest, it was nice to go to bed in a leisurely fashion without the need to play sleep catch up or have something definitive that absolutely had to be done the very next day and, likely, at an early hour of the morning.

"Comfy, dear?" Regina's voice cut through Emma's little moment of Zen, but it only brought a smile to the blonde's face.

"Oh yeah," she pulled the covers back and gave the space next to her a gentle pat. "You coming?"

The brunette smirked and a blush ran lightly across her face. "I think I already did."

Emma's face turned predatory. "Want to do it again?"

Slipping down in the bed, Regina tried and failed to hide a sudden bought of shyness. "Perhaps not tonight. Aren't you tired?"

"Honestly?" Emma sighed and rolled to lie on her side so she could get a better look at the other woman. "Yes, yes I am. I'm exhausted, but you're not wearing any clothes, and that's kind of distracting me from the tired right now."

"I honestly do think you're perpetually a 16 year old boy," Regina said with a roll of her eyes. "Need I point out that you, too, aren't wearing any clothes?"

The blonde waggled her eye brows. "Am I as distracting for you as you are for me?"

"Yes," Regina answered honestly. Leaning down to kiss Emma soundly on the lips, she pulled back only long enough to turn the lights out before she returned to run her hands over the willing body of the other woman. "Tomorrow," she whispered against Emma's heated skin, "we'll have to act like adults again."

The younger woman groaned and wound her fingers into Regina's hair. "Fine, but let's just pretend like we don't have any worries tonight." She gave a tug to pull the other woman to eye level with her. "I need to know I'm not alone."

"You're not," Regina said in a breathy voice. "Let me show you exactly how not alone you are," she whispered before leaning in for another kiss.

When they broke apart, Emma whimpered a weak 'okay' before her world was consumed by Regina's reassuring touch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tomorrow for Emma and Regina is probably going to involved stuff and things and Henry and more Snowing drama. There comes a point in my mind where I think, "You know, if they just pack their shit up, took their kid, and moved to Maine, they'd probably be happier." But, then again, that wouldn't make for a very exciting, character driven, story, would it? It would make for a good happy ending though. :-/


	14. Chapter 14

With Emma soundly asleep beside her, Regina found that her mind refused to stop recapping the last few hours. There was something bothering her that would not allow her to rest until she had taken care of the situation. She had made promises to be better. She had said she would help Emma through this time, and she'd meant everything she'd said, but, still, there were things that she simply could not allow to pass by without properly addressing them.

Carefully, the brunette slipped from beneath the rumpled covers and out of the warm embrace of the other woman. Going to her closet, she stepped inside, closed the door, and turned on the light. She needed just the right outfit. She always felt her best whenever her wardrobe choice matched the mission she was on. As she ran her hands over her beloved power suits, she smirked, her lips curling up on one side in a malevolent and spiteful play on the smile that had been gracing her lips since her bath tonight.

Some people needed to learn when to stop, and she was about to lay down a very solid line that no one would dare cross. She had just the outfit in mind.

Pulling out a pair of her high heeled, knee high black boots, she set them to one side as she began to piece her outfit together. Black stockings, short black pencil skirt, black corset-like shirt with just a touch of lace around the tops of the cups, and a deep red blazer all found their way to the area Regina reserved in her closet as the space for her outfit for the day.

She glanced over the ensemble with an approving eye. It was mayoral with just a touch of the Queen. It would do nicely. With just a few accents of silver here and there, it would be perfect. Quickly deciding she didn't want to wake Emma, she waved her hand and checked herself in the mirror. Getting dressed via magic was so much easier and quicker. It had frustrated her for 28 years when she had to take the time to do it all the old fashioned way.

With her hair, make-up, and outfit perfect, she was ready to take care of the unfinished business that was gnawing at her. She motioned with her hand, and disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke as the same malevolent smirk she had upon entering her closet again graced her features.

* * *

Sleeping off the amount of alcohol Leroy had consumed had only been the first part of his recovery. At nearly 4 in the morning, he found himself once again becoming intimately familiar with his toilet. After all of the years he had experiencing what it was like to be as drunk as he had been that day, he still hadn't learned how to really deal with the aftermath.

Dwarves were supposed to be able to hold their alcohol, and he wasn't about to admit that he found himself passed out or on the floor of his bathroom more than any good, self-respecting dwarf should with just the small amount of alcohol he'd had that day.

Of course, if he were to really admit anything to himself of the mistakes of the day, he would have said that drinking a twelve pack and then taking four shots of tequila was probably one of his lesser good ideas. Jose Cuervo was never a good friend of his.

Groaning, her lurched forward from his place on the bathroom floor and wrapped himself around his toilet. There was nothing left to come up, but his body didn't care. It was punishing him for the punishment he had earlier put it through.

"Hello, dwarf."

Regina's voice echoed in his tiny bathroom, and, for the briefest of moments, Leroy thought he was starting to hallucinate. In fact, he was positive of it until he looked up from his sad little position huddled around his porcelain throne to see the former mayor looming over him with a smirk on her face that made him want to throw up for completely different reasons.

"If you're here to kill me," he grumbled, not bothering to move, "you're too late. I'm already dying."

"I would _be_ so lucky," she replied in an acrid tone. "I came here because you and I have a few things to discuss. Pull yourself together and have the decency to brush your teeth before you step out. I'll be waiting for you in that pigsty you call a kitchen."

He gave a growl at being so commanded. "What makes you think I want to talk to you?"

"Do you really think you have a choice?" She chuckled. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. If you're not out of here within five minutes, I'll remove you myself, and I assure you," she leaned down, voice going low with threat, "you  _do not_  want to do this the hard way."

Straightening back up, she gave a smile that didn't really reach her eyes. "Do we have an understanding?"

Leroy's reply was to wretch into the toilet, grunt, and begin to try to stand up.

"Good," Regina purred. "I'll be waiting." With a quick turn on the ball of her foot, she was out of the bathroom door to leave him to pull himself hastily together.

* * *

"What is  _that_?" Leroy plopped down in the chair opposite his uninvited houseguest.

Regina raised an eyebrow as if to say 'really'. "A glass of water."

"You expect me to drink something from you?" He pushed it away from him. "I don't think so. It's probably poisoned or something."

"If I wanted you dead," she responded in a flippant manner, "I would have killed you where you lay with your head in the toilet." She nonchalantly shrugged. "It would have been a fitting way to end your life."

Leroy let out a gruff sigh. "As a drunk?"

"No," she said in a smooth voice, "as the piece of shit you are."

His eyes widened in surprise. "I can't believe you just said that."

"Ms. Swan must be rubbing off on me," she replied with another shrug. "It doesn't matter. You and I have unfinished business, and I want to see to finishing it now."

"Yeah? What's that? Are you going to take my heart? Curse me? What?" He crossed his arms over his chest and stared her down. "I'm not afraid of you."

"Which is foolish. You should be." Waving a hand in the air, she produced a small vile. "Would you like to take a guess as to what this is?"

Leroy narrowed his eyes. "Poison? A curse? The tears of people whose lives you've made miserable?"

"It's a potion," she said simply. "One that, in a different time, I would have used against you. Would you like to know what it does?" He remained silent, and she continued on without pause. "It causes you to slowly lose your mind. Each day it slips a bit more until you become nothing more than a lunatic locked inside your own worst fears with no hope of returning back to sanity."

"So, what? You're threatening to use it on me if I don't leave you alone?" Shifting in his chair, he leaned forward to accent his point. "I don't care what you do to me. I'll protect my friends no matter what the cost is."

Again, she laughed. "I said  _against_  you, not  _on_  you. Come now, dear, surely we know each other better than that by now?" She gave a little hum. "No, I would use this on your beloved Nova." At his flabbergasted grunt, her smirk only grew. "Don't be so surprised, dear. There's very little that happened in our world or in this town that I' not aware of." She set the smile vile down on the dinky little kitchen table. "I know everyone's stories. I've your queen," her voice was deadly, "it's my job to know my subjects."

"You are not  _my_ queen," he spat out. "You're a manipulative witch, and, if you think I'm not going to tell Snow and Charming and everyone else about this visit, you're wrong. Everyone needs to see you for what you are."

"What I am," Regina replied as she picked the vial up to look at it with a pleased expression on her face, "is tired. I'm tired of fighting with the Charmings. I'm tired of constantly having to prove myself to the likes of ones such as you, and I'm tired of trying to be something that I am not. You're right, dwarf," she looked back to him. "I  _am_ a witch, and, right now, I am a witch whose true love is suffering. As my true love tries to deal with something that could quite literally consume her soul, the last thing she needs is to be accused, persecuted, and pushed to the ends of her means. What I  _am_  is a person who will protect her true love with every weapon within my rather large arsenal."

"Wait a minute," Leroy eyed the vial. "Are you saying Emma is in trouble?"

"I'm saying she needs to be left alone for a bit, and I telling you to leave us both alone until I say otherwise," she answered coldly.

He waved a dismissive hand in the air. "If she is in trouble, it's probably your fault. You influenced her somehow, and that's why she's having problems."

"That's not why," Regina growled. "You will leave us both alone, and you  _will not_  start another mob to come attack me or my home. Because, if you don't, I'll make certain that your love never knows sanity again."

"I'll warn her. I'll warn everyone. You can't stop me from…"

" _What would you do, dwarf?_ " The brunette snapped, eyes suddenly flaring with her anger. "If Nova was on the brink between who she was and falling into the same pit that consumed me, what would you do to stop it from happening? How would  _you_ handle it if everyone in this forsaken town was against you  _and_ pushing your true love closer to that edge? Tell me, how would you handle things without making it worse for her?" She leaned forward, lowering her voice to a whisper. "You and I are not so different as you might like to think. Our tempers get the best of us. We're quick to anger, and we prefer to take action to protect that which we value. Tell me, then," she leaned back, voice growing a tad bit louder, "how would you handle it?"

Leroy sat quietly at his side of the table for a long time. His eyes traveled from the vial in Regina's clenched hand to the woman's eyes and then around the room. "I'd hurt anyone who was making it worse," he finally answered. "I'd do anything to protect her."

Regina nodded her approval. "Then we have an agreement?"

"Put it away," Leroy replied in a defeated tone. He waved a hand in the air as if to push the small vial away from them. "You don't need it."

"Good." The vial disappeared in a puff of purple smoke. "I trust this little conversation will remain between the two of us?"

"I was passed out on the bathroom floor all night," he answered with a heavy sigh. Before anything else could happen, he caught her gaze and held her there for a moment more. "I heard about everything that's happened. I figure that you're probably right. You probably are each other's true love, but that doesn't mean we have to like it. If that's how it's really going to be," with some difficulty, he stood up from his place at the table, "then maybe you should think about trying to talk to the rest of us like we're people instead of pawns in some messed up game you're playing. The curse is over. You're not our queen or even the mayor. You don't have any allies here except Emma, and it's only because of her and Henry that you're not dead. Maybe you should use your connection to Emma to start building some bridges so that the next you need to ask me to stop being an ass you can just give me a phone call instead of threating me?"

Regina gracefully rose from her place at the table. "If I didn't know any better," she said with a hint of humor in her voice, "I'd say that was an olive branch."

He grunted. "It's as good as your going to get. I still don't like you, and I still think you're a manipulative witch."

"No matter," Regina said with a shrug. "I still think you're a disgusting little man who needs to bathe more and drink less."

"Go home, witch. The sun'll be up soon, and I'm guessing you don't want Emma to wonder where you are." He turned toward his sofa and took a nosedive into the pillows.

"Until next time, dwarf," she responded before a puff of purple enveloped her and left him once again alone in his apartment.

He sighed. The town dynamic was changing, and, he realized with a start, he'd just had a private conversation with Regina that hadn't ended with either of them rolling around in pain on the floor. Maybe she was changing? Or maybe he actually was hallucinating?

It didn't matter. What mattered at that very moment was sleep, which he all too happily welcomed as it overcame him.


	15. Chapter 15

Emma took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled. The distinctive smell of coffee filled her senses, and she smiled even before she opened her eyes. Much to her delight, upon opening her them, she found a warm a cup of coffee sitting next to her on the nightstand.

She slowly sat up, taking inventory of the various aches and pains that registered as she moved. Her body was sore. She supposed it was a combination of the build of tension in her muscles over the past few weeks accompanied by the release of most of that tension last night.

The thought of last night made her lips curl into a smile. Looking around at the rumpled sheets and the pile of clothes still at the side of the bed, she allowed her mind to flash over the previous night's activities. She took the warm cup of coffee between her hands and sipped at it while her mind did its best version of an instant replay.

A feeling of warmth filled her as she recalled the tender caresses and gentle words that poured forth from Regina to surround Emma in safety and security. Last night had been about more than the physical. It had been about their connection, their ability to support each other, and it struck Emma as she thought over it how incredibly odd it ought to be that a woman who had quite literally murdered or had murdered hundreds of innocents could have such a caring hand.

While her coffee disappeared, she allowed the thought to roll around in her mind. Regina Mills, the Evil Queen, had been a cold hearted murdered. She had. It was a fact. She had been a rapist. She had done terrible, unspeakable, literally despicable things all in the name of getting what she wanted with absolutely no regard for anyone else. She was ruthless, calculating, and manipulative.

She was every bit of her title. She was the Evil Queen.

But the Regina that Emma had encountered over the past few weeks was not that person. She was still manipulative. She was still calculating. What she wasn't was heartless and without pity, empathy, or sympathy. It was clear she was broken, and there were still several bits of insecurities about her which caused the older woman to lash out. There were still times Regina took the wrong path and fell from the very shaky wagon she was on, but, all of that said, the Regina who had comforted and assured her last night was no more an Evil Queen than Emma was.

With a heavy sigh, Emma set the empty mug on the nightstand and glanced down at her exposed chest. She ran the fingers of her right hand gently across the rise of breast and over her heart. She had seen Regina's heart. She knew what a heart looked like that had blackened, and she wondered if hers looked even remotely similar. It had to have at least a few spots of black on it now.

What did that mean? If the Savior of the town, the one person who was supposed to represent everything that was good, had black spots dotting her supposedly pure heart, what did that mean for the safety and wellbeing of the people the Savior was to protect?

Slowly licking her lips, she swallowed down the lump in her throat. If Regina, she reasoned, could be the woman she was last night, then maybe things weren't as hopeless as they felt? Maybe Emma could learn to deal with, or even work with, her darker passions and instincts?

She had once been told that magic was emotion. It was neither inherently good nor bad. What made it so was the person's intent as they used it. Maybe, just maybe, the darkness one might carry around in their heart didn't mean the person was going to be pulled down into darkness. Maybe it was like magic? Maybe it was the person's internal reactions and external actions based on those reactions that determined the person's ultimate course?

Maybe darkness wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Maybe it was another way of seeing the world, a counterbalance to those who only saw things through the filter of 'good', and, if that was the case, then maybe darkness was about perspective. Maybe it wasn't about 'evil' but more about experience and using that experience as a way to potentially choose a better path?

"Is there a reason you're staring so intently at your breast?" Regina's voice cut through Emma's deep contemplations about the universe. "Although I don't disagree that they  _are_  lovely, I can't imagine the need to have that level of contemplation directed at them." She smirked at Emma's surprised look.

"I was just," the blonde scrunched her face up in thought. "I was thinking about stuff."

"Clearly," the older woman answered in a light hearted way. Although the sun was already out, Regina was still in her night gown, and Emma lazily watched it sway about the other woman as she walked to the bed. Easily sliding into her side, the brunette asked in a tranquil voice, "Penny for your thoughts, dear?"

Emma chuckled. "I don't even know where to start." She let her eyes run over the other woman. "I can't believe you're not dressed yet."

Regina shrugged. "I thought we'd treat today as a recovery day. I actually came up here to wake you. Breakfast is ready. Would you like to come downstairs and eat?"

"Actually, I'd like to take a quick shower first. Would that be okay? Then maybe I could come eat breakfast, and I could give my way more than a penny's worth of my thoughts." The younger woman's face morphed into something close to apologies for potentially messing up any plans already made.

"Of course," the brunette answered with a smile playing on her lips. "In fact, while you shower, I think I'm going to change into something that will let me sit out on the patio without the possibility of being seen in an indecent situation."

Emma blinked at her. "You have patio appropriate outfits?"

"Yes," Regina answered with an air of mock annoyance as she stood from the bed and headed to her closet. "It's a remarkable line of clothing from the most fashionable retail shop for such things."

"Really?" The blonde eyed the other woman. "And what shop would that be?"

The older woman sighed and rolled her eyes. "Wal-Mart."

"You… I…  _Wal-Mart_? Seriously? You shop at… I can't believe." Emma shook her head.

"In fact, I do, and," Regina opened her closet door and stepped inside to pull out a drawer in the chest before her, "I have a very comfortable pair of shorts and a t-shirt I'm rather fond of that I purchased from there about 10 years ago."

"Wow," the sheriff muttered to herself, "I would not have predicted that."

"So you keep saying," Regina said with a laugh. "Go take a shower, Emma. Our breakfast is getting cold."

* * *

"Well, if it isn't the town's First Family," Gold said with an eerie smile on his face. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your early morning visit today."

Mary Margaret confidently stepped up to the counter while David followed a few steps behind. His movements were more apprehensive, and it was clear he didn't want to be there.

"Gold, I have a question," she said in a measured, almost too assured, voice. "Is it possible for a child of true love to be the reverse of whatever the true love pairing is?"

The older man tilted his head and quirked an eyebrow. "I'm afraid I don't understand the question."

She blew out a frustrated puff of air. "If a couple who have true love and both considered 'good' have a child," she paused as if the give herself a running start to leap off and finish her question, "does that mean that child's couple, the product of that true love, will eventually turn out to not be as good?"

"Ah," Gold nodded his head in understanding. "You're asking me if it's possible that Emma naturally leans a little more toward being evil because both you and the prince lean so far toward good. Is that it?" A the nod yes he received, he gave them both an indulgent smile. "That's a very interesting question you've posed, and it's not one many have ever thought to ask. I'm curious. What has prompted you to ask this question?"

David grunted. "You know why."

Gold gave a nonchalant shrug. "Well, I suppose it  _is_ possible that a product of true love  _might_ have a natural inclination to lean the opposite way of their parents, but, really, don't most children rebel against their parents at some point?" He smiled again as if he'd made a funny joke.

Neither David nor Mary Margaret laughed. Instead, the pixie haired brunette frowned deeper as she asked in a slightly more desperate tone, "Is there anything we can do?"

"You want to prevent your daughter from following her own natural inclinations?" Gold raised his eyebrows. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the sheriff has made it perfectly clear that she would prefer for you to  _not_  interfere in her activities."

"Look, all we want to know is if our daughter is in danger." David stepped closer to the counter and leveled his gaze at the other man. "Can you tell us that or not."

Gold pursed his lips in consideration. "Here's a thought for you," he replied in the unique cadence he was known for. "Ask yourself this. If Emma's natural inclination was to lean a little more," he leaned slightly to the right, "toward the dark side, as it were, than toward," he leaned slightly to the left, "the light, why are you now just seeing it?"

"That's why we're here!" Mary Margaret snapped. "That's exactly what we're asking you."

"Is it? That's not the question you actually posed," Gold said as he face sobered up and his eyes zeroed in on her. "I tell you what, I'll answer your question when you provide me with something that I want."

"What?" Her face was turning red as she tried to hold her anger down. "What do you want this time?"

"Information," he replied coolly. "Find out for me how to contact Cora, and I'll tell you what you want to know. In fact," he lowered his voice and leaned slightly forward, "I'll even provide you with something that may help you fix whatever you think might be broken."

Mary Margaret narrowed her eyes. "You can't be serious."

"Of course I am." Gold straightened back up to look down his nose at her.

David gave another grunt of frustration. "How are we supposed to do that?"

"Well, if I knew that, then I wouldn't want that information from you, now would I?" Gold raised an eyebrow to mock the couple. "Do we have a deal?"

"No deal," Mary Margaret said before David could respond. "Whatever you want with Cora, it can only mean bad things for this town and its people. I'm not providing with some kind of secret weapon."

"I see." Gold shrug. "Those are my terms, dearie. Take them or leave them. Now, unless you have other business to address with me, I have things to do."

The couple glared at the shop owner for a long moment before turning and leaving, closing the door soundly behind them.

Gold watched them go and smiled to himself. "They'll be back," he said with a chuckle before turning to return to the back of his store.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMFG, at the rate I'm going, this story is NEVER GOING TO END. WHY do I keep adding characters? OMG WHY?! This must be how the show runners feel. Good Lord. I'm all, "Well, in order to tie up this loose end, I have to have x,y, and z happen, but, in order for that to happen I need this catalyst, which means I'm going to have to add in this thing right here and… dammit! Now this sucker is going to be even longer."
> 
> That said, I'm saying all of this to point out that there's probably going to be a third installment of this series now. On top of all of that, please remember that this story is set just prior to "The Cricket Game". It is super important that everyone remembers this. As far as the canon for this series goes, "The Cricket Game" and everything thereafter never happened.


	16. Chapter 16

"Find Cora? Can you believe that?" Mary Margret stalked alongside her husband as they made their way back home. "As if we'd voluntarily add any more evil to this town?"

"I think it's clear that, whatever he wants, we can't give it to him." David shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket. "But, based on what he said back there, we're onto something regarding Emma."

"Yes," her voice held notes of mourning, "and I hate that. This is a time when I'd rather be wrong than right."

"Maybe we should leave this one alone and see how things go? If we're wrong, great. If we're right," his eyes glanced around the town as they walked, "I'm not sure there's really anything we can do that won't make it worse."

"I don't like feeling this helpless, David." The petite woman wrapped her arm through her husband's as they walked. "I never wanted anything for Emma but for her to be healthy, happy, and loved."

"I know," he answered quietly, "so let's focus on giving her that and not on preventing something we're not even sure is actually real."

Mary Margaret let out a heavy sigh. "It's real."

David matched her sigh with one of his own. "I know."

* * *

"A Boston Red Sox jersey?" Emma's voice broke the quiet of the backyard, and the smell of the two plates of breakfast food in her hand filled the air. "You're a baseball fan?"

"No," Regina answered and then smiled as she gratefully took one of the plates from Emma's hand. She had left them to warm in the oven while the sheriff finished getting ready. To pass the time, she had decided to wait on the back patio with a cup of coffee and the local newspaper. "But I do like the design, the cut of this shirt, and the color."

Unceremoniously, the blonde plopped down in the empty chair and looked down to see a cup of coffee waiting for her. She gave a smile of thanks. "I thought blue was your favorite color."

"It is, but I think it's clear I also like red, and I  _prefer_  to wear red." Regina resettled with her legs crossed in the chair to have a place to balance her plate. "How do you feel this morning?"

Emma took a bite of her eggs and chewed while she thought it over. "Tired, wary, a little sore," she gave a quick side glance. "Not that I'm complaining about that." She lowered her eyes back to her food and a shy smile swept her face. "I've been doing a lot of thinking this morning," she said in a much too serious tone for the lightness the morning had promised.

Regina's voice was neutral. "Oh?"

The blonde's head quickly turned, and she narrowed her eyes. "What? No sarcastic comment about me thinking things?"

"No, I thought I'd refrain today and pretend as though I actually care about your health and well-being," the older woman answered in that same carefully neutral tone. "However, if you'd prefer we do this the usual way, I'm happy to oblige."

For a time, they ate in silence. After Emma finished off her food, she took in a breath and finally answered the offer presented to her. "No, I don't want to. I just… I want to pick a fight with whomever is closet to me, and if feels like I want to fight all the time." She took a sip of her coffee. "Is that how it feels with you?"

"Not always, but, yes, I have that problem, too." Regina took the empty plate from the blonde's hands and set the dishes down on the table between them. "It's taken me some time, but I've come to learn that, when I have that particular urge, it's because I'm trying to protect myself from being hurt in some way. It's a proactive measure. So, instead of picking the fight I'd like to, I'm trying to learn to find the cause of the hurt and fix that instead."

"Learning from your internal struggles," Emma said more to herself than to the other woman.

The brunette frowned. "Yes, something like that."

"I've been thinking about the difference between good and evil and how there's not really a difference between dark magic and light magic. You know, it's the whole concept that what makes magic dark is how the person using it actually  _uses_ it?" The younger woman looked to Regina to make sure she was still making sense. At the nod of understanding, she continued. "What if that's the same thing for hearts? What if darkened hearts are the Universe's way of counterbalancing hearts that are super bright? You know, it's a yin/yang thing? Like… like a darkened heart doesn't mean bad,  _dark_ doesn't mean  _bad_ , and  _light_  doesn't mean  _good_. It's just a balance in how the world is perceived."

Regina pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes in thought. "A way to filter what happens and come to conclusions?"

"Right, sort of." Emma ran an unsteady hand through her hair. "Like people with darkened hearts see the world in the opposite way of people with light hearts, but that doesn't mean they both can't come to similar conclusions or react to something in similar ways. Seeing the world through 'darkness' is just a different type of perspective, but that doesn't mean the person with the darkened heart can't take what they see and do the right thing with it. I mean, I could easily see where someone with a darkened heart _could_  be evil because it's so easy to follow the impulse to do the not-so-good thing, but they don't  _have to_ be. They can still do good, still  _be_ good." She shrugged. "They might just be a little more snarky or a little more jaded about it."

"Pessimist versus optimist?" The brunette tilted her head to the side in consideration. "It's an interesting concept."

The sheriff's face crinkled up. "Do you think I sound crazy?"

"No, not at all. That actually makes a fair amount of sense." Regina's eyes looked off into the distance as she thought it over. "I've never considered it before."

"That's because where you come from everything is literally black and white, good and evil. But here? Here there are shades of gray. It's not the same, you know?" Emma shrugged. "Good people do bad things and bad people do good things. That's just how the world works. No one is 100% one way or the other. They can't be."

The older woman seemed caught up in her thoughts. "Perhaps."

"I'll never be the same again. I get that. This is a part of me now. It's a part of who I am, and it doesn't matter who my parents are or where I come from. I'll always have a little darkness in me. Honestly, I think I always have." Emma's voice sounded resigned. "But maybe I can still be okay?"

"Even the most pure of people has the capability to do heinous acts under the right circumstances," Regina muttered though the haze of her thoughts.

"Exactly," Emma confirmed. "Regina, I want to try this going out thing again."

The comment shook the brunette out of her daze. "You do? Where do you want to go?"

"I want to pick Henry up after school and take him to the park. I want to have a picnic and watch him try to get you to play catch while you insist he does his homework. I want to take him back to my parents' place and have them give you dirty looks while he begs to come home and we both tell him he needs to stay the rest of the week, and I want to come home with you and enjoy the fact that we had a nice evening out as a family." The blonde smiled. "And, if someone confronts us like Leroy did," she took in a deep breath, "I'm going to remind myself of which direction is really the best based on what my internal struggles are because that's how you learn. You learn from doing."

"It's highly likely someone will say something. It's Wednesday, and I believe they're showing some tacky movie on the large, inflatable screen I bought for the park." Regina gave a whimsical sigh. "I really do wish I could have my job back."

"Me too, but maybe soon? I think they're warming up to you?" Emma smirked at the brunette's look of disbelief. "It doesn't matter," she waved it off. "What do you think about tonight?"

"I think it sounds like a lovely evening. Shall I call your parents, or would you like to?" Regina stood gracefully from her place to pick up the dishes. "We should tell them our plans with Henry."

"Yeah, why don't you call them? I'm not… not really ready for that conversation right now. By tonight? Yes, but not right now." The younger woman stood to and followed the brunette into the house to help wash the dishes. "Are you going to change?"

Quirking an eyebrow, Regina glanced down at her outfit, a baseball jersey, jean shorts, and no shoes. "I hadn't planned on it. Why? Would you like me to?"

"No," Emma shook her head and leaned in to kiss the other woman. "I like seeing you like this. It's nice to see you look less like… well, like…"

"An evil, mayoral bitch hell-bent on destroying everything that stands between myself and my goals?" The older woman chuckled. "Odd, I thought you liked me in my business suits."

"I do. I  _really_  do," the blonde's eyes darkened a touch. She dried her hands and stepped up behind the other woman to wrap her arms around her. "You're a MILF, you know that?"

Regina hummed. "I could say the same for you, dear."

"This is about the time you tell me I'm a perpetual 16 year old boy." Emma ran a line of kisses along Regina's neck. "And then I make scoffing sounds at you."

"Why don't we skip it this time and just go for the endgame?" Regina purred. "I won't even hold it against you that you're using sex as a way to distract us both from the fact that I have call your parents soon or the possibility that something disastrous will happen tonight at the park."

"You're really great at setting a mood. You know that?" Despite herself, Emma chuckled. "But I'll take what I can get."

Regina turned in the blonde's arms, a devilish smirk playing on her lips. Wrapping her arms around Emma's neck and leaning forward, she whispered into the other woman's ear, "Take away, sheriff."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, the exposition...


	17. Chapter 17

"Let's go to the park tonight." Belle gave her best dazzling smile. "I want to see the movie they're showing."

Gold looked up from his book and raised an eyebrow. "What would that be?"

She demurred a bit, trying to be coy. "Beauty and the Beast." She smirked. "The Disney animated version."

"You can't be serious," he responded in an offended tone. "In fact, I can't believe they'd actually show that rubbish. Why would you want to watch that?"

"Aren't you the least bit curious how the rest of world sees all of us?" She shrugged. "I just want to know. Besides, I think it'll be fun. The weather will be nice tonight, and I bet most of the town will show up to watch it."

"Who organized this?" Gold closed his book with a huff. "Regina isn't acting mayor anymore, not that she would show such drivel, and the Charmings are busy chasing evil ghosts away from their daughter."

She ignored his jab about Emma and her parents. "Oh, that's a good question." Belle frowned. "I'm not sure, actually. Hold on, let me look." Flipping her phone opened, she scrolled through a few messages before she found the one she was looking for. "Granny's is showing it." She looked up, and her smiled lit up her face. "Let's go! I'll pack a picnic. It'd be nice to forget everything that's going on in this town and just enjoy a night out. Don't you think?"

"I think I'd rather drink paint thinner," he grumbled.

"Rumple," the young woman's voice chastised and pleaded at the same time. "If you refuse to go, I'll go by myself." He huffed at the very thought she'd go alone. "Or, better, yet," she shot him a defying smirk, "I'll ask Thatcher from the grocery store to go with me."

"What?" His eyebrows rose. " _That_ horse?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Be nice."

"I  _am_ being nice. In our world, he was a talking horse." Gold rolled his eyes. "Alright, fine. I'll go, but we're bringing chairs and a table. I refuse to sit on the ground."

Belle's smile grew bigger. "Great! I'll go start on our picnic basket." She scrambled for the door to the kitchen. Stopping just before she left, she leaned back and jokingly added, "I promise not to sing about it while I do it."

* * *

"David, I think your phone is ringing." Mary Margaret glanced around the sheriff's station. "Where is it?"

"In my desk drawer," he answered as he continued to dig through a filing cabinet nearby. "Can you get?"

She gave a little shrug, opened the drawer, and, without checking the ID, answered just before the phone when to voicemail. "David Nolan's phone, Mary Margaret speaking."

On the other end of the line, Regina didn't bother to hold back the sigh of contempt nor the eye roll that followed having to listen to that cheery answer. "This is Regina," she said in a voice she hoped didn't sound as irritated as she felt at having to speak to Mary Margaret as opposed to David Nolan.

"Oh," the pixie haired brunette's postured straightened, and she turned to make eye contact with her husband so he would pay attention to what she was saying. "Regina, is everything okay?"

"As well as can be expected," the older woman answered in the least hostile way she could manage. "I called to tell you that Emma wanted to take Henry to see the movie showing in the park tonight. We plan to pick him up after school, but we will bring him back to you afterwards. Emma still is not," she hesitated, not wanting to make the sheriff sound weak, "well rested enough," she nodded to herself, pleased with what she'd come up with, "to handle Henry full-time quite yet."

"I see," Mary Margaret answered in careful tone. At David's questioning look, she tried to answer as she spoke to the other woman. "So you'll pick Henry up, watch the movie, and then bring him back? I'm assuming you'll feed him dinner while you have him?" Her husband's face took on a surprised look. She shrugged.

"Yes, that was the plan," Regina answered in a flat tone. "We wanted to make you aware so you wouldn't be concerned when Henry didn't immediately come to you after school today."

"That was very thoughtful of you, thank you," the younger woman answered with sincerity. "You know, that actually sounds like it might be fun. I didn't ask Granny what was showing tonight. Do you know?"

"No, in fact I don't." Frowning deeply, Regina reached for the daily paper resting beside her at her desk and flipped it to the back to see. "It would appear that Granny Lucas has a sense of humor."

Mary Margaret tilted her head, shifting the phone to the other ear. "Why do you say that?"

"Because I'm looking at today's paper, it tells me," Regina's voice held just a hint of humor in it, "that we will be watching Disney's  _Beauty and the Beast_." Despite herself, she chuckled. "I wonder if Gold and Belle will be there," she said more to herself than to the person on the other end of the line.

"Really?" The pixie brunette actually laughed, which made her husband's look of surprise morph into a look of concern. " _Beauty and the Beast_?" She sighed, trying to stop her chuckles. "I don't think Belle will pass it up."

"Well," the older woman sounded completely sincere, "better her than us. I think I can safely say the last thing either you or I would want is for them to show  _Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs_."

"Oh God," Mary Margaret groaned, "let's not even think about that."

Regina chuckled at the other woman's discomfort. "If we don't run into you at the park, we'll see you tonight."

"Okay. We'll talk soon." Mary Margaret ended the call and turned to David. "Regina and Emma are going to pick Henry up and take him to see the movie tonight that is showing at the park."

"I gathered that.  _Beauty and the Beast_?" She nodded yes as he walked over to her. "And they're bringing Henry back here afterwards?" Again she nodded. "And you feel fine with this?"

"No," she pursed her lips in thought, "but I don't feel bad about it, either. But that might be because we're going to the park, too."

"We are?" He crossed her arms and frowned. "What if I don't want to watch a Disney movie?"

"Well, that's just too bad. We're not going for the movie. We're going to keep an eye on our family." She gave him a look that dared him to defy her.

"I'd rather go for the movie. Didn't we already talk about this?" David reached over and plucked his phone from her hand. "But I probably should go because I'm the acting law enforcement in town right now."

"See?" She nudged him against the shoulder. "There are  _plenty_ of reasons for us to go."

He sighed. "Yeah, let's just hope none of them involve me arresting anyone tonight."

"I'll try to play nice with Regina," she answered with a smirk. "We did just have a perfectly civil phone conversation."

He grunted. "Baby steps."

* * *

"Mom?" Henry's voice was full of delight. He quickly walked to the brunette, a smile plastered on his face. "What are you doing here? I thought Gramps and Grams were picking me up today?"

"Well," she squatted down to be eyelevel with her son, "Emma and I thought we'd all go to the park and watch the movie tonight. Would you like that?"

He nodded. "That sounds like fun." A thought passed over him, and he frowned. "Am I coming home with you tonight?"

She winced. "No, Henry, I'm sorry, but you still need to stay the rest of the week with your grandparents."

"Is this because of what's going on with Ma?" His frown deepened. "Is she going to be okay?"

Not wanting to continue the trend of lying to him, Regina tried her best to answer him without giving away too much. "She will be. It just may take her some time."

"Is this because of me? I mean," his eyes fell to the ground, and his shoulders slumped, "if you two hadn't come to save me, then she wouldn't have killed Ursula, and maybe she'd be okay right now." He gave a quick glance up. "Right?"

"Henry, I want you to listen to me." Regina lifted his chin so he would look her in the eyes. "This  _is not_  your fault. Emma and I would do  _anything_  to keep you out of harm's way. We love you, and we're your parents. It's our job to keep you safe or save you from any danger you may be in. There's no blame here." Her face was earnest. "Okay? You're not responsible for anything that's happened."

"I just feel," he closed his eyes, trying to keep the tears at bay, "like maybe she's mad at me."

"Why? Because we asked you to stay with Mary Margaret and David this week?" Regina sighed at his nod of yes. "Sweetheart, that's not why. Emma's not mad at you and neither am I, but," she searched for the right words, "a great deal has happened, and we all need some processing time. Even adults sometimes have to take timeouts, and this is our way to do it. While we figure everything out, we want you to be someplace stable, someplace safe."

"So, it's not safe to be at home?" He wasn't pushing. He was trying to understand.

Regina mentally cursed how observant her son was. At times, he was a little too much like her. "We would  _never_ intentionally hurt you, Henry."

He didn't miss the implied answer. "Is she turning evil?"

"I…" She sighed, dropping her head to take a mental moment. After taking in a few deep breaths of air, she looked again to meet his gaze. "Her heart has darkened a bit."

His eyes grew large with panic. "What does that mean?"

She glanced around, making sure no one was around to hear their conversation. The sidewalk was deserted, and there didn't seem to be anyone around. Satisfied they were essentially alone, she answered the best she could. "I used to think I knew." At his cross look, she merely frowned deeply. "It means that the person has done something corrupting, regardless of the reasons behind the action. It doesn't mean the person is evil. At least," she tilted her head in thought, "I'm beginning to believe that to be true. However, those of us with a darkened heart, we… sometimes our anger and selfishness is stronger than it should be."

Henry seemed to take a moment to process. The curiosity in his eyes won out over his panic and fear, and he asked in a honestly inquisitive tone, "Is it really black in places?"

Regina's eyebrows rose in surprise. That was not the question she had expected. "Our hearts?" Again, he nodded in the affirmative. "Yes. There are places on our hearts that are black."

He tilted his head in thought? "Does it ever go away?"

"No, I've never known that to happen." She shrugged. Trying to lighten the mood, she said, "But who knows? Magic is different here. The people are different here. Maybe how hearts work is different here as well?"

Giving a small smile, he reached out and took her by the hand. "Do I have to do my homework before we play catch?"

"Yes." Regina stood up, straightening her baseball jersey and turning toward the park. "And I'm not playing catch."

"Why not?" He whined. "It'll be fun!"

Grateful for the reprieve he'd given her, she decided to give in just this once. "If you finish your homework before the movie starts, we'll see."

"Yes!" He did a little fist pump of victory. "We're  _so_ playing catch."

She chuckled. "Homework first, dear."

In an answer that was all Emma Swan, he answered, "Yeah, yeah…"

 


	18. Chapter 18

"Hey kid," Emma gave her best welcoming smile as her son plopped down beside her on the overly large blanket she'd spread out while she waited. She'd been careful to find a spot where the earth wasn't rocky or full of roots, and, much to her relief, she'd somehow managed to grab a place right against a tree, which she was currently leaning against as she sat on the ground. "How was school?"

"It was okay." Henry shrugged off his backpack and began pulling out his homework. "My teacher says we have to read the first chapter in  _Where the Red Fern Grows_  by tomorrow." He frowned while he dug through his pack, looking for the book.

The blonde watched him with an amused expression. "That's a good book." She shrugged. "It's a little sad, though. Did you know the guy who wrote it couldn't read or write until he was a grown man? His whole life he went around not understanding half the world, and then he decided that he wanted to understand, so," she glanced to Regina, locking eyes with her, "his wife taught him how, and, after he learned, he wrote the book. Pretty cool, huh?" Her gaze dropped down to the blanket and roamed over the basket and bag sitting to one side. "I bet his wife had a lot of patience to help him understand something that complicated." She looked back to her son. "Because it is, you know? Reading and writing is hard to do."

"Yeah," he grumbled as he rolled onto his stomach with the book in his hand, "Reading isn't my favorite subject." He flipped to the first page of the book. "I like science better."

"They're both good subjects," Regina added in her thoughts as she carefully began to take a seat on the blanket close enough to be involved in the conversation but far enough away from Emma to keep the prying eyes that were watching them from getting too scandalized at what they were watching. "I'm very thankful that you're gifted in both subjects, even if you favor one over the other." She gave him a gentle smile. "After you finish your chapter, we'll have dinner."

He grunted in response. His little brow furrowed, and his eyes narrowed as he began to concentrate on the words on the page before him.

The women left him alone, turning to each other to speak quietly while their son did his homework. "You're too far away," Emma said, a smirk playing at the edges of her mouth. "Come here."

"I'm less than a foot away from you," Regina countered, rolling her eyes. "How is that too far?"

"Well…," the younger woman's voice was playful as she answered. Leaning forward, she grabbed the brunette around the waist and tugged her around, ignoring the other woman's muted protests, until Regina was leaning against Emma. " _This_ is how close you  _should_  be," Emma whispered against the older woman's ear while she wrapped her arms around Regina's waist and enjoyed the feel of the brunette's back leaning against her front. "Tell me this isn't better."

"I'll tell you that three people just did a spit take with their respective drinks." Despite herself, Regina chuckled. "Of course I can't be certain, but I'm sure it has to do with this little display of affection you're insisting on."

"I don't care." Emma nuzzled her nose against Regina's hair, pushing it back to place a gentle kiss on the older woman's neck. "And I know you  _like it_  when you get to mess with their heads, so don't tell me you care. You know I hate it when you lie to me."

Regina gave a little contented hum. "It  _is_ nice to shock them without actually, well, shocking them." She sighed, relaxing more into the arms holding her. "How long before someone comes up to say something?"

"I'd say less than a minute. I can see Archie heading this way, and Pongo is…"

Emma didn't get to finish her sentence before the dog in question had made it to their blanket and bounded into Regina's lap, landing heavily there and awkwardly sitting as best he could. Tilting his head to the side, he raised his ears and stared them at with an expectant face.

The older woman actually laughed, and the sound seemed to run through the crowd watching but pretending not to. Some were shocked that she hadn't reacted angrily. Others were curious, and still others were happy to see her actually seeming to enjoy something at all.

"Well hello," Regina said, the laugh still echoing her voice. "How are you, Pongo?" She reached forward with both hands and began to scratch him behind the ears. He grunted and laid down across her and Emma's lap to allow more scratching and rubbing. Regina grinned. "Demanding, aren't we?"

"Hi, Pongo." Henry looked up, reached forward to give a couple of scratches and went back to his book.

Archie finally made it to the group, panting a little from the chase. "Regina, I'm so sorry. He got off of his lease."

"It's fine, Doctor Hopper. He's not hurting anything." She looked down to the animal sprawled over her and Emma's legs and moved to rubbing his tummy. "Are you, Pongo?" The dog's only reply was to look up to Archie and then flop his head back down. "Exactly." She looked back to the dog's owner. "Would you care to join us? We have plenty of room."

"I," taken aback by the uncharacteristic offer, Archie took a few seconds to consider before coming to some quiet conclusion in his mind. "I'd love to, but I promised Grace that I would sit with her and her family tonight. Perhaps another time?"

Regina nodded her understanding. "Of course."

"Pongo can stay if he wants." Emma sighed. "He looks comfortable."

The doctor hesitated. "I don't want him to be a bother…"

"It's fine." The sheriff's voice was calm and solid. "We're fine, Archie. I promise."

He seemed to consider them. "If you're sure…"

"I'm sure you sent Pongo over here as an excuse to check on us." The blonde's hand finally pulled away from the grasp on Regina's waist to give the dog a scratch. "You could have just come over and said hi. Neither one of us bites, despite the rumors flying around town right now." She gave him a small but reassuring smile. "I promise we're good."

"I just wanted to let you know I was here in case you needed me." His face reddened a bit. "I'm sorry if I interrupted anything."

"You?" Emma shook her head. "No." With her free hand, she pointed to Pongo. "Him?" She nodded in the affirmative. "Yes. I could be there right now."

"Ms. Swan!" Regina's voice cracked like a whip, and half the people around jumped, including the doctor and their son.

The blonde, however, only chuckled. "He's welcome to hang out here as long as he wants, but you have to take him home with you because this is as far as he gets." She winked.

"Ewwww," Henry dropped his head, covering his face with his book. "Ma, do you  _have to_ say stuff like that?"

Regina's head turned quickly to the boy. "Henry!"

"What? I'm 11, and it's not like I live under a rock." He glanced around his book and winced at the look his brunette mother was giving him. "I'm just saying that… well, it's not a mental picture I want, okay? Who wants to picture their parents doing…  _that_?" He gave a shudder and pulled his eyes back to his book.

"Oh God," Regina groaned, putting a hand to her face to cover her eyes, "our boy is growing up too fast."

Archie chuckled, pleased at the familial behavior he was watching unfold before him. Nodding to himself, he said in a chipper tone, "I'll pick Pongo up after the movie if he hasn't made his way back to me before then, if that's okay?"

Emma nodded. "That's fine, Archie." She gave a little wave as he walked away. "That was fun."

The older woman groaned. "You really  _are_  turning evil, Ms. Swan."

"Yeah, but only a little bit," the sheriff replied with laugh. "And it's 'Emma'. Come on, I know you can say it. I heard you say it less than two hours ago."

Grinning despite herself, Regina replied back in a lightly annoyed tone, "You're incorrigible, Emma."

Many people around them were openly watching them, giving up on any pretext that they weren't. In typical regal fashion, Regina acted as if no one was looking at all while Emma obviously ignored them.

Henry read his book.

* * *

"I wonder where Emma and Henry are?" Mary Margaret stood at the edge of the clearing in the park and ran her gaze over the mass of assembled people strewn about. Several were eating, some were playing games, and a few were reading or people watching. She sighed. "Better question; where are we going to sit?"

David's eyes glanced about, looking for a decent spot to claim as their own. He shrugged. "How about we climb a tree?"

"Maybe…" Her voice trailed off while she thought about their options. "It might give you a better view of everyone anyway."

He grunted. "We're not climbing a tree so you can spy of Emma and Regina."

"Fine," she countered in a semi offended tone. "Not that it's hard to see where they are. Everyone here keeps looking over at that tree near the screen. I bet that's where they are. We should at least go over and say hello."

"And then go find a spot somewhere else," David finally put his foot down. "I tired of this fight, Mary Margaret. We both know what's going on with Emma. We both know it's  _not_  all Regina's fault, and," his gaze held hers with an intensity she recognized in him from moments when he'd finally become resolute on an issue, "we both know we don't get to pick who we love, nor can true love be kept apart."

Their eyes locked for a long, drawn out moment while they silently battled wills. After a time, Mary Margaret let her gaze drop to the ground between them. "What if she hurts her?"

"What if she doesn't?" David reached forward and placed a reassuring hand on his wife's shoulder. "Someone has to lay down arms first. Why can't that be us?"

The tiny woman flinched. "It's always us, David. We're always the ones that offer the olive branch, and she's always the one to set it on fire and hurl it back at us."

His eyes reflected the turmoil of thoughts and emotions that ran through him. As his mouth pulled down on one side, he said in a sure yet tired tone, "She offered it first this time." He was quiet, subdued. "She helped find a way to bring you back from the Enchanted Forest, she's the one who absorbed the curse at the well that would have otherwise killed you both, she's the one who stepped up and actually began to help Emma with… with this 'issue' while we were all still trying to place blame  _on_  her. In a lot of small ways, she's been offering the olive branch." He shrugged. "She's really terrible at it, and I don't think she holds it very steady or for very long at a time, but I honestly do think it's there."

Mary Margaret's shoulders slumped. "What about what Gold said at the shop? What about Emma's heart? If there's a way we can stop it…"

"We'll find it without his help, or," David grimaced despite himself, "we learn to trust Regina to help guide Emma through learning how to do deal with things."

"Because she did so great with herself," she grumbled in reply.

"Well, if we were honest with each other, we would admit that it's not like Regina had a safety net of people who loved her, cared about her, and were there when she actually needed and wanted the help." He glanced around, running a tired hand over his face. "Emma has all of that plus someone who knows exactly what she's going through to help her when she needs it."

The petite woman frowned deeply. "It's like an AA sponsor who is also a recovering alcoholic trying to help someone else trying to recover while they're both sitting at a bar." Her eyes again scanned the crowd, which was still throwing surprised and wary glances toward the tree where she had little doubt her daughter was located. "Magic is everywhere in this town, and they can't stop using it. They're linked with it."

"But they have us, and we'll be there for them, right?" His voice held a hint of desperation.

She lowered her head, body going still, her thoughts much deeper than she liked. "I don't want to make another deal with Gold."

"Then don't," he said in a soft voice. "Let's just try to put our family back together."

Swallowing down the lump in her throat, she raised her head, and wiped at her eyes. "We lost the war, didn't we?"

"No," he wrapped an arm about her shoulders and started walking them toward Emma. "The war isn't about good and evil, is it?" He gave her shoulders a squeeze. "It's about what's right  _in spite_  of good and evil."

She sighed heavily. "This world is so much more complicated than ours."

"We'll make it." He maneuvered them around people, giving hello smiles and nods to people when he made eye contact with them. "We always do."

* * *

"So I told the female detective, 'I got it. You already marked your territory; I can see the corners just fine from here. Fine. Whatever. All I'm trying to do is make a living.' And she tells me, 'Yeah? All I'm trying to do is solve a murder,' which was stupid because she was standing there with this cute little honey haired brunette who was wearing a dress that probably cost what I make in a year, and they were both drinking coffee. That's it! When I got there, they were drinking coffee and have eye se… erm… eyeing each other in a hot and heavy way. I mean, it's not like they were interviewing anyone or anything." Emma rolled her eyes and shifted against the tree. She put her hands on Regina's hips and shifted the smaller woman to resettle the brunette against her. "But, as soon as I started asking the owner questions, this detective steps in and starts telling me where I can go. I was only trying to talk to a few people to figure out where my guy was; I was just doing my job."

"The life of a bounty hunter," Regina shook her head. "Why were you and the detective supposedly speaking to the same people?"

The blonde groaned at the memory. "I didn't know it at the time, but my guy had become a suspect in the murder of a young girl. I was out looking for him because he jumped bond, but  _she_  was after him because his fingerprints were on the murder weapon."

"Did you catch him, Ma?" Henry's attention was rapt on his younger mother's story. "Did you get the bad guy?"

" _We_ caught the bad guy. The detective agreed to let me help them find the guy after I showed her up on a few things and she had to admit that I was good at my job. We caught a break when we ran across some hair and fiber samples that helped us figure out where he was hiding." She smiled. "Bad guys lost. Good guys won."

Regina gave a little growl in the back of her throat at that last statement. "And  _who_ was the other woman? How did she fit into the picture?"

"Well, come to find out, that cute little brunette in the thousand dollar designer dress was the ME working the case with the homicide department." Emma leaned a little to one side to kiss Regina on the cheek. "Don't worry. You're way more stylish and prettier than she is. No competition."

"Of course there isn't," the older woman said with a smirk. "I very much doubt she can compete with a queen."

"If you two kiss again, I'm going to throw up." Henry's voice was high pitched and whiny. "Seeing your parents kiss is  _so_  gross."

"What about your grandparents?" David's voice was jovial as it broke into the family's moment. "Is that gross, too?" With a laugh, he pulled Mary Margaret into his arms and planted a kiss on her despite Henry's protests.

Henry's head turned quickly at his grandfather's voice, and he was just in time to see his grandparents kiss. "Ewww," he moaned.

The adults shared a knowing laugh.

David nodded at the seated woman, while Mary Margaret remained silently by his side, blushing slightly despite herself. "Emma, Regina." He gave Pongo a strange look. From his place still sprawled across the women's legs, he didn't even bother to look at the man looking down at him. "Pongo?"

"He decided to come by for a visit," Regina explained with a shrug.

"Looks like he decided to make himself at home," David replied with a shake of his head. "Anyway, since I'm the acting the law enforcement person around while  _someone_ ," he winked at his daughter, "decides to take vacation time, I'm making the rounds before the movie starts. Is everything okay here?"

"We're great." Emma gave him a look that said she knew what he was really doing. "Archie swung by earlier, but, rather than that, it's been a pretty lazy afternoon."

"In fact," Regina wiggled to get Pongo to move off of her. He reluctantly did so, only to relocate to an unoccupied corner of the blanket they were seated on. "We were just about to eat now that Henry is done with his homework."

"What are you having for dinner tonight?" Mary Margaret's voice was soft and unsure.

Regina stopped short in her movements to gather the bag and basket. She glanced up to make brief eye contact with the standing woman before restarting her movements. "Chicken salad sandwiches." She slowly licked her lips as she made deliberate motions to set things out. "Would you like to join us?"

It was the second time that evening the older woman had offered to allow someone else to join them, and Emma finally realized why. She could finally feel the little trickle of fear coming down the connection between her and Regina. The other woman was scared something might happen if a third party wasn't with them; she was scared someone would come over and try to pick a fight, and she was scared she wouldn't be able to keep something very bad from happening.

Regina was trying to protect them under the guise of being friendly.

"I promised David I'd leave you alone tonight," Mary Margaret answered bluntly, much to everyone's surprise. Before her husband could protest, she added, "But when have I ever listened to him?" Her face lit up as she gave an honest smile.

"Apparently never," Regina answered with a touch of humor in her voice. She watched as the pixie haired brunette took a seat on the blanket. "Though you see how much of a shock this fact is to me."

"I see you have you sliced apples for dessert," Mary Margaret's voice was smooth and pleasant. "This is my shocked face." She raised an eyebrow and grinned as she reached into the basket, grabbed an apple slice and took a bit. "Honey crisp?"

The older brunette gave a hum to indicate she was correct. Somewhere, they all heard someone give a scandalized gasp. "Sandwich?" She held it out to David.

"I think I'm going to pass." His eyes roamed over the women sitting down. "Henry, you want to come with me while I go walk around the rest of the group?"

"Yes!" The little boy hopped up. "I mean," he glanced at his older mother, "if that's okay?"

"Of course. You can eat when you get back." Regina smiled at her son before turning back to the other woman on the blanket. "Well, the night has become even more interesting. Belle and Gold just showed up." She turned her head and motioned behind them.

"Maybe they'll take the heat off of us?" Emma took an offered sandwich. "I'm tired of being everyone's entertainment tonight."

"How  _have_  you been, Emma?" Her mother's voice was uncharacteristically quiet, more like the pre-curse Mary Margaret the sheriff once knew than the bold and daring Snow White she knew as her mother.

Emma shook her head, her mouth forming into a grim line. "Baby steps."

Mary Margaret nodded. "I know the feeling." She looked to Regina. "Thank you for the sandwich."

"Thank you for the peace offering," the older woman replied. She shifted so she could watch Gold and Belle make their way through the crowd, find a spot, and begin to set out two chairs. "Do you think anyone would hold it against me if their chairs were suddenly unusable?"

"No." It was Mary Margaret who answered, and it was bit too quick. Her daughter gave her a look that said she realized there was something going on there, but it was missed by her mother, who was watching Gold with a look that could kill. "I'd say go for it."

"Well, if you insist…" Regina's voice trailed off. She narrowed her eyes, concentrated, and made a small, almost unnoticed motion of her hand.

In the distance, both chairs fell apart as they were opened, and Gold's cry of annoyance could be heard all the way across the clearing.

Regina smirked.

Emma laughed.

Mary Margaret gave an approving smile.

* * *

"Nothing good can come of that," Whale said. Arms crossed, eyes narrowed, he watched Emma, Mary Margaret, and Regina peacefully eating dinner under the sprawling branches of one of the park's many trees. "They shouldn't be having dinner with  _her_. They should be locking her up and planning her execution."

"Leave them be," Leroy said between sips of beer. From where they sat across the green from the women, he could see the three of them talking and occasionally even chuckling. "They're not hurting anything right now."

"This coming from the man who, until today, wanted to string Regina up by her thumbs?" Whale eyed the dwarf. "What's gotten into you?"

Leroy shrugged. "Nothing." He took another sip of beer. "Just tired of fighting all the time, that's all."

"So we're all just going to roll over and pretend as though she didn't destroy all of our lives, rip us from our homes, and drop us here?" The doctor snorted, his disgust clearly evident.

"No," the smaller man slowly shook his head from side to side, eyes still on the woman. "We're just going to move on. Don't you think it's about time?"

"I think it's disgusting that the woman who is supposed to be our Savoir is sleeping with the woman who cursed us all." Slowly standing up, Whale uncrossed his arms and gave himself a little shake. "If Snow White and the Prince won't do something about this, then someone should."

"Hey!" Leroy's voice sounded loudly, cutting through the air. "I said leave them alone."

"Or what?" Whale gave the other man a disdainful look. "So the Queen has you in her back pocket now, too? What did she offer you? An unlimited supply of alcohol?"

Leroy gave Whale a hard look. "Funny."

"I'm going over there to do something about this." The taller man's body was rigid with irritation and pent up anger. "This disgusting display between the sheriff and that woman has gone on long enough."

Without another word, Whale briskly walked away, headless of the shouts from the dwarf for him to stop before things got ugly.

* * *

"It  _is_ true," Regina said between sips of water. "When she was a child, she had a gift for befriending small, furry animals in the strangest of places. Not long after I moved into the castle, we were required to attend a ball in another kingdom. While there, the children were sent into a tower in the West Wing, and your mother managed to not only find three mice but befriend them by the end of the night."

"Oh god," Emma groaned, throwing an amused yet weary look at her mother. "Tell me they weren't blind."

"Only one," Mary Margaret said somewhat defensively. "Which is why I offered to help them!" The other two women laughed. The pixie haired brunette huffed. "I was only trying to do the right thing." She crossed her arms over her chest.

"And, apparently, the right thing included sneaking down to the kitchens to steal cheese for the mice," Regina deadpanned, raising an eyebrow.

Emma's eyes widened a bit. "You fed the rodents?"

"They were hungry," Mary Margaret argued. "They asked me to help them. What was I supposed to do?"

The blonde shuddered. "I hate mice. I'd have taken them out. What? Don't look at me like that! They're rodents. They carry around diseases and stuff."

"They were my friends!" Her mother's voice went up a notch.

"Which you made instead of making friends with the other children there." Regina shook her head in amusement. "You always were an unusual one. That was when I learned she could speak with animals. Up until that point, I had begun to think she was talking to herself or to an imaginary friend when she was out in the gardens during the day."

"Wait a minute," Emma finished her water and tossed the bottle back into the basket. "How did you know she stole the cheese from the kitchens?"

"An assistant to the cook came to me while my husband was occupied speaking with someone else and quietly told me what was happening." The older brunette took in a deep breath as she recalled the situation, allowing hindsight to show the humor of the then-politically shaky situation. "I quietly excused myself from my king's company and went to the kitchens to find Snow arguing with the main cook about the cheese." Mary Margaret winced. "As soon as I arrived," Regina continued on, a devilish smirk playing on her face, "she stopped arguing with the cook and looked close to making a run for the nearest exit."

"I thought about it," Mary Margaret quickly admitted. "But then I thought Regina might be willing to help me."

"She was, of course, wrong. Mice are disgusting creatures." Regina gave her own shudder. "Instead, I quietly pulled her away and gently explained why she was in the wrong."

"And then she grounded me for a week." The pixie brunette scrunched her face up. "No garden time for a week."

"It must have been very hard for you," Emma said with mocking sympathy.

"It was!" Her mother glowered at her. "I couldn't see any of my friends for a week."

"By friends, she means furry things most of us run over with our cars," Regina added, evil smirk now fully on her face.

Before Mary Margaret could say anything, Emma's laughter cut through any potential tension, which, in turn, made the other two women chuckle.

It was Whale's angry voice that broke the amusement in the air.

"I'm glad we're all having such a good time," he said, voice low and threatening. "You know what would make everyone have an even  _better_  time?"

Emma slowly stood from her spot and crossed her arms, jaw setting. "We're all being civil today. Let's keep it that way, okay?"

"No, not okay." He shook his head. Pointing down to the former mayor, he asked in an acrid tone, "Why is she not in jail or, better yet, dead?"

The air around them stilled, all eyes watching the scene unfold. "Why would she be?" The blonde's voice was even, though her muscles twitched with the effort it took for her to remain calm.

"Really, Sheriff? Do you  _need_ a list? She's a monster. She's a murderer, a liar, a thief, and a traitor. The atrocities she's committed are too numerous to count. How can you stand there and ask me that question?" He spat the last question at her, eyes daring her to continue the fight.

"Seriously?" Emma's voice was tense, though still eerily calm. "This from a man who reanimated his brother after getting him accidentally killed. Need I remind you that you reanimated him using a heart you stole from the Evil Queen which you were supposed to use to attempt to reanimated her murdered first love?" She pursed her lips. "No one here is without blame, Whale."

The doctor tilted his chin up, eyes narrowing. "I never killed someone."

"No, but you did eventually reanimated that first love of hers didn't you?" The sheriff took a step forward, body vibrating with pent up rage.

"Emma, that's enough." Regina's voice held a note of her own anger. The last thing she wanted was even more of her personal life laid bare to the masses. "We don't need to do this."

"No, I think we do." The younger woman stepped even closer to Whale. "People need to know, Regina. They need to know all the crap you've been through. Everyone knows everyone else's story, but no one knows yours, and, you know what?" Her hands shot out, grabbing the front of the doctor's shirt in her grasp and taking him off guard. "What you did was messed up. You want to talk about torment?" She pulled him closer to her, eyes boring into him.

Struggling to break out of her surprisingly strong hold, all he did was grunt in response.

Emma snarled back at him. "You  _reanimated_ Daniel, turned him into a monster, just like your brother, set him loose on  _this_  town, and forced Regina to have to take him out lest  _he_ take her, Henry, and everyone else out." She gave him a hard shake. "You  _forced_ her to essentially kill him  _again_. That's pretty fucked up, making her take out the  _one_ person that had shown her selfless love, bothered to care about her and not use her as a pawn… The person whose death actually made her go nut fucking crazy and eventually cast The Curse." Her voice was loud now, and she didn't care who heard her. "Did you ever stop to think that maybe,  _just maybe_ , you might make things  _worse_?"

"You don't understand," he said, voice angry. He had stopped struggling, though his hands remained wrapped around her wrists. "There was far more going on than…"

"I don't care." Her eyes burned with her anger, and her magic swirled through her. "I don't care what she did or what the complicated reasons were for your retribution. I don't care how hurt you think you were or what wrongs you think have been done to you." A wind that originated from the blonde began to whip about the two. "I'm  _done_  caring about the past. We all need to move on, and, if you don't leave me and my family alone," her voice dropped to that chilling timber so many were familiar with coming from The Evil Queen, "you  _will_ start regretting it."

* * *

From the very far side of the park, Charming saw the disturbance and made a mad dash for it, Henry close at his heels. He called out to his daughter, but his voice was drowned out by the wind as it blew back from where the sheriff stood.

He could only watch and run, hoping that someone could stop it before the situation fell into complete chaos.

* * *

"Emma, no." Regina forced herself up and pushed her way against the wind to stand next to the younger woman. "You must stop this."

"It'd be easier to put him out of our misery," the blonde growled, eyes glowing with the magic wanting so much to be used. "We'd never have to deal with him again."

"But at what cost?" The older woman ignored the confused look in the doctor's face. Instead, she reached forward and placed a hand on Emma cheek, turning the other woman's face so their eyes met. "The price, Emma. Are you sure you really want to pay that?"

"I'm sure I'm tired of this," the blonde answered, leaning into the brunette's touch. "Why won't they leave us alone? Even for a day?"

"Because I've done some very despicable things, and people have every right to be angry." Regina held the sheriff's gaze, using the connection between them to urge the young woman to find her center of calm. "You cannot protect me from my past."

"But I want to." Emma's muscles began to relax and the wind slowly died down.

"I know." The older woman gave a sad smile. "But that's simply not possible. These people are going to be angry. They have that right. I  _am_ at fault for all of us being here. That is a fact you cannot change. I know your intentions are good. I know you want to keep me from getting hurt because you… because you care about me, but think about  _how_  you are trying to go about protecting me.  _Think_ , Emma. Look at what you're doing."

The blonde's eyes shifted from Regina's back to Whale, and her gaze slid to her hands, which were still balled up in his shirt. Slowly, she released him, swallowing hard as her mind caught up with her emotions and actions. "I was…" She blinked, face grim. Her eyes met his, and she whispered, "You're lucky I didn't kill you tonight." Her voice sounded hollow.

As David came to a stop a few feet away, the three at the center of the attention stared at one another. He reached out, keeping his grandson from getting too close to the still unstable scene. Catching his breath, he looked to his wife, whose eyes were wide with fear and surprise.

Emma slowly licked her lips, physically turning her body around in a circle to make eye contact with the crowd watching them. In a louder voice, one that could be heard across the mass of eyes staring at her, she stated plainly, "Here's the deal." They blinked at her, waiting. "You have to stop this crap. That last fight? The one with Ursula? Those rumors are true. I killed her  _myself_  to save Regina and get Henry out of there. It darkened my heart, which was already a little splotchy. I have never been a saint. I've done some bad stuff in my life. I'm not like her." She pointed down to her mother. "Nothing about me is as pure as snow. It never has been. You want to try to make me out to be a saint because I'm your Savior, but it's not like that. Not everyone who saves people is a saint, okay? And this thing you have going on where you want to put Regina's head on a stick? You're going to have to stop it. She's my true love." Many in the crowd gasped or murmured. "Yeah, I know. It was a shock to us, too, but there it is. So, if you take out Regina, you're taking out the mother of my son and my true love. You  _know_  I'm not going to let that happen."

She crossed her arms, face deadly serious. "I have magic. I have a connection to Regina. I'm wrestling with a darkened heart. There you go. Now you know, and you can stop staring at us, poking at us, and wondering about the rumors. The rumors are dead. There's the truth straight from the horse's mouth."

Turning back to Whale, she pulled a hand free to poke him in the chest. "Leave."

He looked between the Sheriff and former mayor, eyes uncertain of what to do. It was David's voice that helped him along. "Come on, Whale. You've done enough damage for tonight."

The deputy stepped up to the circle after gently pushing Henry to Mary Margaret. "In fact, I think we can all be done with this now." He looked around at the crowd. "Can't we?"

In the silence, Leroy raised his voice to answer. "Yeah, I'd rather watch the movie and ask Belle about the Beast!"

From somewhere else in the crowd, someone yelled out. "Hey, Gold, did you really eat like a wild animal, or did Disney get that wrong?"

Still another voice rose up to add, "Belle, you ever read any good smut books when he had you trapped in the castle?"

From their place on the ground, Belle gave a nod to David and placed a hand on Gold to keep him silent. She called out, "Only at night!"

The answer seemed to finally break the tension, and, while the crowd chuckled, David took Whale by the arm and led him away.

"I want to go home," Emma muttered as she fell into Regina's offered embrace.

"I think we should stay," Regina answered in a soft voice. "We  _need_  to stay."

"I thought I was ready," the younger woman lamented, laying her head on Regina's strong shoulder. "I thought I could do this."

"You can, dear. One step at a time." Pulling away, Regina pulled them back down on the blanket so their positions were reversed from earlier. She leaned against the tree and guided Emma to lean against her. After settling, Regina said in an assured voice, "Everything's fine now."

"Ma, we don't have to stay here," Henry said. His eyes found Regina's, and he silently asked her to reassure him again that none of this was his fault. "I don't want anyone to get angrier."

"Hey," Emma's voice was weak, her body slumped against Regina's. She reached a hand out. "You know what would help?" At her son's puzzled look, she answered, "Family cuddle time. Come here and act like you like it when I hug you." She gave him a weak smile.

Slowly, cautiously, he made his way over, glancing at Mary Margaret as he did so. She gave him an encouraging nod and made her way over to lean against the tree next to Regina.

As Henry settled in her lap, Emma wrapped her arms around him and set her chin atop his head. "This isn't your fault, kid." She kissed the crown of his hair. "Okay?"

He tensed in her hold. "How did…"

"Your mom and I are connected, remember?" She leaned a little to the side so they could make eye contact. "We know  _everything_  the other one knows, and you know what that means, right?" He slowly shook his head no. "It means that, when you start trying to sneak stuff by us, there's no way it'll work." With a smirk, she kissed his cheek.

He rolled his eyes. "Like I could get anything by either one of you anyway," he grumbled, but he relaxed, allowing his younger mother to hold him while she was held.

* * *

"I'm sorry," Mary Margaret whispered to Regina while she reached forward to gently run her hands through her daughter's hair.

"I know," Regina quietly replied, careful to not interrupt the mother/son moment Emma and Henry were having. "I can accept that now."

"Do you think things could have been different even after…?" The younger brunette shrugged, her words trailing off before finishing with 'Daniel died'.

"Perhaps, but we were both young." Turning her head, Regina looked at Mary Margaret with an expression of regret. The tiredness she'd developed over the years swept over her features, and her eyes held sorrow for lost chances. "We were both children, and we were both broken." Her smile was sad. "In many ways, we are still children and still broken."

"I'll try to be better, Regina. For Emma, I'll try." The pixie brunette leaned her head against the tree trunk, letting it land with a thud. "She really does need you."

"I need her, too." The older woman let the smile fade from her face. "Are we finally calling a truce?"

Mary Margaret nodded. "I think it's time, don't you? Our children need us more than we need to continue this feud."

They were both quiet for a long moment, each considering the other. Finally, Regina gave a single nod. "Agreed."

With that one word spoken, they both sighed deeply and turned to the screen where the movie was beginning to play.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long since I updated. I had to wait to see what they did to  
> Regina. Now that I know, I'll be able to finish this out. But, because I made you wait so long, this chapter is twice the size of my usual.
> 
> As always, your reviews are welcomed, and thank you for continuing to read this story.


	19. Chapter 19

"Aside from that whale of incident, that wasn't such a bad night," Emma said with a smirk as she opened the front door to the former mayor's home. "And Henry seemed to do alright, too. I'm almost sorry that we made him go back with Mary Margaret and David."

Regina's eyebrow rose at the bad pun, but she let it slide. Stepping into the quiet of her home, she continued toward the kitchen to put away the picnic supplies. "Do you? I thought we had plans for tonight that didn't involve the little ears of our son."

The blonde hurried behind, smirking as her mind ran over the plans she had in store for the woman ahead of her. "Well, yeah, which is why I said  _almost_." Rushing past Regina, Emma entered the kitchen and bowed down with a flourish before taking the basket from the other woman's hands. "Allow me, m'lady."

"Charming," the former queen said in an unamused voice while handing over the basket.

Emma winced. "At least I was trying." She let a heavy sigh escape her. Setting the basket on the island, she began to take out the contents and place them in the appropriate locations about the kitchen. "I'm… I'm really sorry about tonight. I mean, I  _am_  trying, but, if you hadn't been there when Whale…"

"No apologies are needed nor necessary." Regina began to help. They slowly and methodically worked together to put everything back in its place while they softly spoke of the night's events. "Whale was out of line, and, in another time and place, it would have been me taking him down a peg." She gave a very small smirk. "What is it the kids say these days? I know those feels."

The younger woman's eyes shot up from her task to find her companion. "Oh my God, Regina, tell me you don't have a tumblr account."

The brunette gave a nonchalant shrug. "One of the easier ways I've found that allows me to see what our son is up to online is to simply create accounts for sites he visits and follow him."

"You're joking. No," the sheriff held a hand up. "I know you're not. So, what's your tumblr account? Oh god, do you have a twitter? What about facebook? You  _do_ , don't you?"

"I cannot believe that, of all the things that have happened today, the one thing you're focused on is my social media online life." Regina rolled her eyes. Stashing the now empty basket under the counter, she moved toward the laundry room to drop off the dirty blanket and napkins they'd used for their picnic.

"I'm sorry. There's just a lot about you that still surprises me, you know?" Emma followed behind, trying to keep up while not being in the way. "Besides, I don't really want to focus too much on what happened tonight. Every time I think about it, I realize that I almost killed him. I mean," she stopped walking and simply stood in the hallway, watching the older woman drop off the dirty laundry and turn to look at her. "I really did, Regina. It's like I get close to being normal again, and then something happens, and the next thing I know I'm two seconds from seriously hurting someone over something that doesn't mean anything at all. This side of myself, it scares me."

"I'm not going to let that happen," the brunette's voice was soft with reassurance. "And neither are your parents or Henry or anyone else. You're safe, Emma. We'll keep you that way until you can handle things on your own."

"What if I can't? What if I'll never be able to control myself again?" The younger woman ran her hands along her arms as if she were suddenly chilled.

"It won't happen," Regina's voice was steady and strong as she spoke. Stepping forward and reaching a hand out to place it gently on the blonde's cheek, she locked their eyes together and held the gaze with a look of absolute certainty. " _You_ are Emma Swan. You are a woman who has survived the foster care system and come out of it a tough no nonsense bounty hunter, who survived the pain of giving up her only child so he could have a better life, who survived the wrath of an evil queen turned hard assed mayor, who survived being dropped into the Enchanted Forest twice without so much as a forewarning, who stood strong against the Queen of Hearts and won, who has constantly found an internal strength that others could only dream of, and I  _know_  that you will survive this because, Emma, you are  _the_ most powerful person I know."

"When you say it like that, you make it sound like I'm some sort of superhero or something," Emma muttered, a blush flowing across her cheeks.

"Worse," Regina deadpanned, "You're the Savior of an entire people from the Evil Queen."

The younger woman smiled despite herself. "Who  _has a tumblr account!_ " She turned her head to kiss the hand upon her cheek before giving the other woman a huge grin. "Come on, Regina! Tell me what it is."

The smaller woman gave a heavy sigh. "Did you take classes in how to completely destroy a tender moment, or does this just come naturally to you?" At Emma's growing grin, she rolled her eyes. "No. I'm not telling you, and don't try to find me. I need at least one place in this world where no one knows who I am. That said, you and I need to work on you controlling your magic, which means we need to rest because I know we're both still tired. It's been a very long week."

"So," Emma gave a little pout, "does that mean we don't get to do what I was planning on us doing tonight?"

Tilting her head to the side, Regina feigned consideration for a brief moment. "I think I could be persuaded," she purred before pulling her hand away and swaying her way toward the stairs.

* * *

"I can't prove it," Gold grumbled while he fought to throw two of his now ruined outside chairs in the dumpster beside his store, "but I'm certain Regina had something to do with this."

"Was it really so horrible to sit on a blanket with me?" Belle's gentle smile added to the chuckle in her voice. Reaching out, she helped heave the second chair into the dumpster. "Don't be so grumpy, Rumple. Come on, then," her eyes sparkled under the moonlight as she considered him for a moment. "What can we do to get you out of this sour mood, hmm? Want me to sing?" She winked.

He snorted. "No, I most certainly  _do not_." He turned and headed toward his car, Belle following closely behind him. "That would be almost as disastrous as Whale's attempt at vigilante justice tonight." As soon as he said it, he realized it was the wrong door to open.

Belle took in a deep a breath and let it out slowly as she slide into the passenger's seat of his car. "About that," she eyed him with a tired look. "I've been thinking about Emma and the necklace."

"Not this again," he groaned while the motor turned over and hummed to life. "I've made myself perfectly clear about this."

"And so have I. Rumple, I really think you ought to give it to her and at least give her the chance to choose." The young woman's eyes turned to look out at the passing town. "This place needs her, and I don't think it would survive if she winds up not being able to control herself." She turned back to her driver. "Do you?" She watched him. His silence spoke volumes. "That's what you want," her voice rose in shock and horror, "isn't it? You want this town to be destroyed, don't you?"

He began to grumble, "Belle…"

"No! No, don't 'Belle' me. Are you or are you not trying to destroy this town?" She was now near ear piercing volume for the size of the small car they were traveling in. "Why? After all this time? After what everyone has been through? _Why_  would you…"

" _I'm not!"_  Gold's voice cut into her tirade, and the anger and frustration in is stopped her midsentence. "I'm not," he said again in a more controlled voice. "I have no desire to destroy this town. In fact, it's just the opposite. The danger doesn't lie with Ms. Swan not being able to control herself or, rather, her magic now that it's mixed and mingled with the Evil Queen's. The danger, dearie, rests in an Evil Savior who is only controlled by a single trinket held around her neck by a very breakable string of gold. I assure you, nothing,  _especially_ gold, is strong enough to contain the urges of one who is need of following a darker path. I would know." He gave a huff of air, grinding his teeth at the end of his admission.

"What are you telling me?" Belle blinked, trying to process. "Are you saying you knew Emma's heart would darken before she went after Henry this time?"

"No, I didn't  _know_ ," he spat back as he pulled his car into his driveway. "I  _suspected_ , and I assumed you'd be upset if your little friend turned evil and you found out I had an idea it might happen and didn't do anything to stop it."

"And taking the necklace from her will stop it?" She sounded incredulous. "How?"

"Because the only way to stop going down a dark path is to see that you do, in fact, have choices,  _real_ choices, and to choose to go the other way. You have to learn. It cannot be handed to you on a platter. If the answers are always presented to you and your options always appear to be limited to do one thing and only this thing because all other options will never turn out well, then you're doomed to a darker path regardless of your intentions." He flung his car door open and stepped out, slamming it behind him.

Belle tumbled from her side of the car and hurried to catch up with him as he made his way to the front of the house. "But  _how_ ," she protested, "do you  _know_  that giving Emma the  _choice_ of using…"

"How do you think I created my monster, hmm?" Gold turned on her, cane clutched tightly in one hand and keys dangling from the other. His eyes were cold and hard, voice growing more and more angry and frustrated with each passing moment. "How do you think I molded and shaped Regina into the  _exact_  thing I needed her to be in order to enact the curse? I gave her no options but presented them as all the options she'd ever have. Through misdirection, half-truths, and lies, I guided her into what I needed her to be." He leaned down, gesturing at himself with the hand that held the keys. They swayed and jingled while he spoke. " _I_ did that.  _I_ created that monster, and  _I_ know how it's done. It's done by taking choices  _away_ , and that necklace does exactly that. You want your little friend to be saved? Well, I'm telling you how to do it, and I put the motions in action for it to happen."

They were quiet for a moment, each contemplating the other. Finally, Belle quietly broke the silence. "You did that for me?"

"No." He stood up again, turning toward his front door. "I didn't do it  _just_ for you. I did it for me, too. As much as I'm loathe to admit it, this town is now my home, and I'd like for it to remain intact, thank you."

The young woman took in a deep, cleansing breath before following Gold into the house. As she closed the door behind them, she said in a sheepish voice, "Why didn't you just tell me that?"

His answer was heavy with centuries of wariness. "Old habits die hard."


	20. Chapter 20

The sunlight was brighter than she'd like as Emma opened her eyes and looked around the room. Regina was curled around her side, her head resting on Emma's chest and an arm protectively wrapped around the younger woman's waist. Emma couldn't help but smirk. Regina's ear was resting over her heart, and she found something profoundly warming and, at the same time, profoundly sad that the brunette rested better when she could hear the sheriff's heart beating in her chest.

Slowly taking in a breath, she held it and gently scooted away from the other woman and out of the bed, careful not to wake Regina. She wanted a little time to herself before the world completely awoke for the day. After grabbing her clothes, she left the master bedroom and stepped into the guest bath to run through her morning routine.

As the hot spray of the shower pounded down on her, she allowed her mind to run through the events of the past few months. Everything had happened so quickly, and things were changing in ways she couldn't even begin to understand. It scared her, which made her angry. She was tired of being scared, just like she'd been tired of running from her problems. She wanted to stay and fight, but she couldn't wrap her mind around how, exactly, to do that.

She thought she'd understood it all. She thought that it wasn't a matter of good and evil. It was a matter of how you interpreted what it was based on which way you tended to lean, but she was clearly wrong. Last night had shown her how wrong she was. She was too enraged by Whale's remarks to do anything but want to kill him. The more she fought wanting to tear him down, the worse her desire to do so became until all she saw was red.

She wasn't fighting a filter on how she saw the world.

She was trying to fight against something completely intangible, and it was starting to take a heavy toll on her. How do you fight emotion? Suppressing it only makes it worse. Ignoring it doesn't make it go away. Following the impulses caused by it could be disastrous.

If this was how Regina had lived most of her life, it was little wonder to Emma that the brunette had such dark moments. Fighting it all was tiring. It was a constant uphill struggle, and Emma wasn't sure she was strong enough to keep up the battle for the rest of her life. She wasn't even sure how Regina was managing to do it now. The woman was a paragon of strength and will. She had to be.

With a weary sigh, Emma turned off the shower and began to dry.

Maybe it wasn't about fighting it? The link she shared with Regina was strong enough that she was certain she'd be able to feel this kind of inward struggle constantly coming from the older woman, if that's what she had to do. She knew Regina had these dark impulses. She knew that Regina had the same turmoil of emotions she now had. She'd felt them, but Regina didn't struggle with them.

Maybe that was why Regina could handle them? Maybe it's  _because_  she wasn't struggling against them that she could deal with them? Maybe that was why she, herself, wasn't making progress? Maybe it was about learning to accept everything, to understand that this was something that was a part of her and not apart from her? It wasn't some foreign entity that had invaded her soul. This was something that she simply was.

She stopped drying off and simply stood, staring blankly at the wall ahead of her. If you stop fighting the struggle up the hill, she reasoned as the wheels in her mind ran quickly around, and accept that you don't actually need to pass over it but, instead, find a path around it to your destination, then journey is not so tiring.

She glanced at herself in the mirror and smirked. "Who needs fortune cookies when you have my brain before my first cup of coffee in the morning?" Shaking her head in amusement, she finished drying her hair and pulled on her clothes for the day.

* * *

"You look like you slept well." Regina stepped behind Emma where she stood at the kitchen's island and wrapped her arms around the blonde.

"I did." Emma turned and placed a kiss on Regina's lips. "How did you sleep?"

"I can't complain." The brunette's eyes danced in the morning light. "You look like you have something to tell me."

"Yup, but you're not going to like it." With small smile forming on her face, Emma tried to be assuring as she spoke. "I've been thinking about what's going on in my head, and I think I get it. I had a moment in the shower this morning, and it kind of hit me. I just have to accept that this is a part of me."

"Yes," Regina nodded, eyes guarded.

"So that means learning to live with it and not fight it because those are two different things." Emma gnawed at her bottom lip while she considered the best way to ask what she was about to. "I think that means that, when things happen like last night, I need to learn to take some… emotional responsibility." She frowned at the confused look on the other woman's face. "I have a hard time seeing you as anyone but Regina. I know everyone else sees you as at least two, maybe three, different people. You're The Evil Queen. You're Mayor Mills. To some of them, you're Princess Regina…"

Emma's voice trailed off for a moment, her mind flashing back to when she met the young Regina so in love with a stable boy. She shook her head. "I've always gotten angry when people don't give you slack, and I get really pissed off when you're the first person to blame when things go wrong around here. But, you're right, they do have a right to be angry, and I need to allow them to be angry because it's justified."

"So it is." Regina took in a breath and sighed, stepping away from Emma to put space between them.

"Don't do that. Don't wall me out. I'm just trying to explain that I need to learn to live with things like you have, but I'm doing a crappy job of explaining myself." The blonde rolled her eyes. "I want to see Whale."

"You're joking." Regina shook her head and crossed her arms. "No. Absolutely not. The next time, you may actually kill him."

"He's my litmus test," Emma pleaded. "If I can keep a handle on myself with him, then I can with anymore. I need to see him."

"Not until you get a better handle on your magic." The brunette set her jaw.

"Getting a better handle on my magic just means my aim will get better if I try to kill him," the sheriff countered. "Come on, Regina. Trust me. I can do this. He's probably at Granny's right now. There'll be a crowd as a buffer…"

"Or as additional targets for practice." Holding a hand up to silence the younger woman before she could counter, Regina scowled deeply. "This isn't a good idea."

Emma's shoulders dropped, and she lowered her head as she tried to think of a reason to explain why it was a good idea. Walking over to the counter, she reached to grab the coffee only to find they had none. "We're out of coffee."

Regina's eyebrow rose. "And you're about to tell me that we have to go to Granny's now because being out of coffee is a sign that we should because there's coffee there?"

"Well, I mean, if you think so." Emma turned with a smirk on her face. "Trust me?"

Closing her eyes and taking in a few long, calming breaths, Regina nodded. "Okay, Emma. Okay."

* * *

"What happened between you and Regina last night?" David held Mary Margaret's coat to allow her to easily slip it on.

"We came to an agreement," she answered with small smile. "We decided that Emma's needs were more important than our disagreements."

"Sounds like a truce to me." He opened the door and held it. "Actually, I'm glad to hear that. I know that, in the past I've wanted her dead, but now…"

"Emma needs her." Mary Margaret nodded with understanding. "After last night, I don't think anyone in town would argue that, and, as much as I hate to say it, I think Regina needs Emma just as much. They really do rely on each other."

"Sounds like another couple I know," David said with a grin as he closed and locked the door. "Ready to go see what kind of mischief Henry is into at the diner?"

"Ruby wouldn't let him get into too much this early in the morning." She laughed. "Surely not!"

"We'll see."

* * *

"He's here." Emma looked across the small diner to where Whale was seated on a stool at the far end of the bar. "I  _knew_  he'd be here."

"It's not too late to go back home," Regina said in a voice she hoped sounded neutral.

"Yeah it is. He just saw us." With a nod to the doctor, Emma led Regina to a booth not far from where he was sitting. "I say it takes him less than five minutes to come over here. What do you think?"

"This is insanity," the brunette replied in a dry voice.

* * *

"Hey, Ruby?" Henry poked around the small office in the back of the kitchen that served as the diner's bookkeeping area. "How come you came to get me this morning?"

"Because your grandparents needed the morning to take care of few things, and I owed them one." The waitress reached over and ruffled the boy's hair. "What? Are you saying I'm boring you to death?"

"No, I'm just wondering. I had fun learning how to make omelets today." He shrugged and then frowned as something ran through his mind. "Mom makes really good omelets."

"You know it's not going to take long for your moms to get it together, right? You know how much they both love you." She stood up, offering Henry her hand, which he took. "Just give them a couple of more days, and I'm sure they'll have you back home with them soon."

"I know things are hard. Last night was scary, and I don't want to keep Ma from whatever it is she needs so she can fix herself, but," his shoulders dropped as they walked through the kitchen toward the front of the store, "I miss them both, and I want to go home."

Ruby glanced down at him. She watched him walk beside her, head down, shoulders hunched, and she frowned deeply. Emma and Regina weren't the only ones having to deal with the darkness that seemed to run through the sheriff and former mayor, and Ruby hoped that no one forgot that fact.

"Come on, Henry, let's get you some hot chocolate," she said with a lightness she didn't feel.

* * *

"You just keep showing up," Whale sneered down at the women who were currently sharing a plate of apple pancakes.

"And you continue to be where you're unwelcome," Regina replied in an apathetic tone before turning back to her breakfast. "Do you want the apples, Emma, or may I have them?"

"All yours." Emma pushed the slices away from her. "Good morning, Whale." She gave a side glance to the man leaning over their table.

"We didn't finish our talk from last night." Looking down his nose at the two women, Whale grunted in disgust. "I was wrong." When neither responded, he continued. "You  _both_  need to be locked up and waiting for an execution date."

The room became deathly silent, and all eyes turned toward the booth as everyone waited to see what would happen next.

Emma swallowed her pancake and took a slow sip of coffee. "Maybe," she said with a shrug.

Whale's eyebrows rose in shock. "Maybe?"

"Would you prefer the word 'perhaps'?" Regina countered as she calmly added more creamer to her coffee.

"So, you admit it!" He made a wild gesture between the two of them. "You," he pointed to Regina, "need to be locked up, and you," he gestured to Emma, "need to at least have your head examined if you think it's okay to bed the Evil Queen."

"Probably." The blonde shrugged and pushed the last bite of her pancake into her mouth.

"Well then," Whale's voice was getting shriller. "Why aren't you  _doing_  something about it,  _Sheriff_?"

"Well," Emma swallowed down her food and took another swig of coffee. "First of all, I'm not on duty today. David is. Second of all," she reached across the table and stabbed an apple off of Regina's plate, "I willingly admit that Regina _has_  done some really awful stuff, but that stuff led to our son, whom we both love more than life itself. It led to this town, which is one of the better places I've ever been and has running water, electricity, and modern medicine. It also led the two of us to our true love, so I can't say I'm entirely upset about  _all_ of the supposedly evil things Regina has done in the past. Some of it? Yeah, but not all of it." She shrugged. "Also, my relationship with Regina might not the be the best idea I've ever had, but it's something really important to me, and I'm not going to walk away from it because one guy who has a monster named after him thinks it's a bad idea." She popped the apple slice into her mouth and began to chew.

"We have made our truces, alliances, and agreements," Regina continued in a rather diplomatic tone, though she looked at Emma with eyes that screamed of how proud she was of the other woman. Despite the fact that Emma wanted to retaliate and hurt the doctor, she was still calm. She was choosing to accept she wanted to do horrible, nasty things to him and choosing simply not to. Regina could feel the emotions and the choices, and she was pleased with Emma for maneuvering through them so well. "Everyone in our lives whom we affect and affect us has spoken with us, and we've all come to mutually acceptable arrangements. Things are pleasant for all parties involved at the moment."

"And probably for a lifetime. I think we're all tired of fighting." Emma glanced over to see Henry and Ruby standing at the register watching the exchange. She motioned for Henry to come over and waited until he was near enough that she could turn in the booth and pull him into her arms. They both faced Whale, and, setting her chin on Henry's shoulder and wrapping her arms around his small frame, she looked up at the seething man looking down at her. "You don't get a say in what happens to my family, and I don't get a say in how you feel about my family, unless," she raised an eyebrow, "you try to hurt them. At that point, I make no promises about what I'm likely to do."

"Mothers have a tendency to be extremely protective of their children." Mary Margaret's voice broke into the conversation, startling them all. They turned to watch her make her way from the entrance to to their booth. "Trust me when I say that I know for a fact that a mother will do  _anything_  to protect her child, her family." She glanced around at the people involved in the tense conversation and nodded to Regina, who returned the gesture. "Maybe it's not such a good idea to provoke a bear, Dr. Whale. Don't you think?" She looked over to her husband for approval.

He nodded and crossed his arms, waiting the battle out from the sidelines and confident in the women who were currently handling the situation. With a small nod of understanding, she turned back to the booth and slid in beside Regina.

"I think you're all out of mind, is what I think. You're just going to let a woman who has committed mass genocide go free simply because the daughter of the king and queen is in love with her? That's insanity! Justice needs to be served. She  _needs_ to be punished." He threw his hands up in the air in frustration as he turned in a full circle to look at the faces watching them. "What's wrong with you people?"

"Fairytale characters." Emma let Henry go and slid over to allow him to slip into the booth beside her. "I decided shortly after I broke the curse that  _that_ is what's wrong with almost everyone in this town. They're all fairytale characters, so their ideas of how good and bad work is a little skewed whenever you add in the part where a happily ever after ending might happen." She shrugged at his look of utter disbelief. "They all want a happy ending, and you can't get that if you kill off someone's true love."

"You were way more observant than I gave you credit for back then, Emma," Regina said in a quiet voice, though she smiled as she said it. She was still feeling Emma's emotions through their link, and her own relief flooded the other woman as she came to realize that whatever revelation Emma had that morning was working in their favor. Emma wasn't out of control of her emotions or her magic.

It was an incredibly impressive moment of Zen, and Regina couldn't help but proud of Emma while being jealous that she, herself, hadn't found this place as quickly as Emma seemed to have.

"You're joking." Whale scoffed at the sheriff. "Your excuse is that it's because they're from fairytale land?"

"The Enchanted Forest," the blonde mildly corrected. "But, yeah, in a nutshell, that's why. You're like me. You're not really from their world, so sometimes the things they do don't make any sense to us because our sense of forgiveness and justice is way different. But I'm telling you that you're going to have to deal with it because that's just how it is. They're fairytale characters. They like for all their stories to end with 'and they lived happily ever after', and they'll do whatever it takes for that happen, even if that means forgiving the Evil Queen."

"Just like that?" The wind had clearly blown out of Whale's sails.

"Yup," Emma nodded and leaned back to motion for Ruby to come over. "Just like that."

"But… she's a menace." He looked wildly around the diner for someone to back him up, but no one seemed to want to step up to his side of things.

"So are most of the people in this town," Emma countered. "Ruby's a werewolf, you're a mad scientist, Jefferson is the Mad Hatter, Gold is The Dark One, Snow White has taken out God only knows how many of the Evil Queen's guards when she was in exile, Prince Charming literally took out a dragon, and I'm a convicted felon. None of us are clean of sin or even close to being considered normal, safe, or sane." She looked down to Henry, who was watching her with wide eyes. "Well, maybe Henry. I think he's still pretty clean."

"I would have to agree with you," Regina nodded from behind the rim of her coffee cup.

"You know, I only killed the ones who wouldn't stop trying to kill me," Mary Margaret muttered, giving a little pout.

"If you'd turned yourself in…" Regina let the comment trail off, just managing to keep the smirk off her face but not the dark humor from lacing her words.

"Well," the pixie haired brunette rolled her eyes and made a dismissive gesture with her hand. "Hindsight."

"I… fine." Whale rolled his eyes and turned on his heels to go back to his breakfast. "You're all clearly mental."

"Maybe it's not us?" Emma called out to his retreating back. At his lack of an answer, the group at the booth smirked. "Hey kid," she said as she gave a playful push with her shoulder against Henry's.

"Hi Ma." His smile beamed.

"You hungry?" She caught Ruby's eye and the waitress stepped up to the table.

"No, Ruby gave me an omelet this morning, but," he gave a cautious look across the table to his other mother and grandmother, "I'm still kind of hungry."

"He wants a milkshake," Regina stated matter-of-factly. "Chocolate with…"

"Sprinkles, a swirl of vanilla, and whipped cream." Ruby smiled broadly. "I know how that story ends."

"With a tummy ache!" Mary Margaret sighed disapprovingly. "Henry, is that really what you want?"

He squirmed uncomfortably under her gaze. "Maybe."

"Yes, it is." Regina smiled gently at her son. "And I'd like another cup of coffee, please."

"Right." Ruby jotted some notes down and looked to her best friend. "Well?"

"The usual, please, Ruby, and would you tell my husband it's safe to come join us?"

"You go it." Ruby tucked the notepad away into her apron and turned to go retrieve everything ordered.

"You know," Regina commented in a coldly dry voice, "She plays fetch better than Pongo."

Despite themselves, the group chuckled.

* * *

"You seem better, Emma." Mary Margaret smiled gently at her daughter. "Are you?"

Emma weakly returned the smile. "I'm getting there. I mean, I'm still going to need some time, but I think I understand a few things better now."

"Does this mean I get to come home now?" Henry looked around the booth to the adults, eyes hopeful.

"Henry," David's voice was kind but firm. "We talked about this."

"Yeah, I know, but," the young boy sighed heavily, "I miss being home."

"We miss having you home." Emma looked across to Regina and quirked an eyebrow. "Don't we?"

The brunette smiled brightly. "In fact, we do."

"So," Henry's smiled beamed, "Does that mean everyone is okay again, and we can go back to normal?"

"Normal is a little relative around here, kid," Emma replied with a laugh, "But, as close as we can get, yeah, I think so. Unless there's something else going on that I don't know about, I'd say it's probably time you came home." Her eyes met her mother's, and the humor in her words died. "What?"

"Well," Mary Margaret winced, "there  _might_  be something else going on." She looked at David who nodded for her to go on. "We spoke with Gold yesterday."

"Why?" Regina's voice was cold, eyes narrowed.

"It was before everything that happened last night," the pixie haired woman held up her hands in a show of innocence. "Please understand, Regina, David and I have been trying to find a way to help Emma, just like you have. We had… we had a theory that maybe the reason Emma is having such a hard time is because we're who we are."

Regina's eyebrows rose. "And that would be…?"

"Well," David stepped in, "you know that saying that the only thing left from a fire is ashes?" She nodded; he continued. "We were afraid that maybe that's what happened to Emma. Maybe, because we lean toward the," he looked at Henry and frowned, not wanting to add to the young boy's thoughts on his mothers. "The good side of things so heavily that it was causing Emma to go the other way."

"And what did Gold tell you?" Sitting rigidly still, Regina watched the couple with a piercing gaze.

"He said," Mary Margaret cautiously replied, "that it was a possibility. He also said that he might have something to help Emma with her problems."

The older brunette scowled deeply. "And the price?"

Mary Margaret glanced down to her hands, shifting uncomfortably where she sat beside Regina. "He wants to find a way to contact your mother."

"Why would he want that?" Regina snapped. "I know for a fact that hates her as much, if not more, than I."

"He wouldn't say," the younger brunette muttered. "But the fact that you and Rumple agree on anything is a little scary."

" Yes. It's a terrifying idea." Regina looked across the table to Emma, who was frowning deeply at the fear she felt coming from the former queen. "She cannot be allowed into this world."

"I don't understand. What would Gold have to 'help me'? Help me with what?" Emma shook her head.

"I don't know, and I don't care," Regina answered for the table. "He's  _not_  going to get to her. It's as simple as that."

"Even if she's not," David added, voice trying to be reassuring, "We're not going to help him contact her."

"Good." Regina turned to the woman next to her. "Do not, under any circumstances, help that imp. He's nothing but trouble."

"I know," Mary Margaret let her face fall into her hands. "I was just… I was so worried about Emma, and I thought…"

"You  _thought_  you could help Emma by making a deal with Gold?" Letting a growl escape the back of her throat, Regina leaned a bit into the younger woman's personal space. "I realize you don't think very highly of me, but I would _never_ …"

"Regina," Emma's voice stopped the other woman's tirade. "It's in the past. Let it go. No one's going to help Gold. We're going to ignore him, and we're going to live our lives. Right?" She looked around the table, making eye contact with the other adults. "We're all family here, and that's how we're going to act. Right?"

Begrudgingly, the group nodded in the affirmative. "Good, then it's settled. Henry's coming home today, we're going to spend the rest of my week off doing family things, and Gold can go suck my …"

" _Emma!"_ Both Regina and Mary Margaret snapped at once, and the blonde quickly shut her moth.

"Sorry," she blushed. "Still trying to work with the not-so-good side of myself." She looked down to Henry, who was trying very hard not to laugh. "Shut it."

Between giggles, he protested. "I didn't say anything!"

"Henry," David stood from the chair he was seated upon at the end of the booth. "Let's go back to the apartment and pack your things."

"Okay," the young boy nodded, standing to follow his grandfather. "Are we still going to have our sword fighting lesson today?"

David grinned broadly. "Of course. Why don't we do that after we pack?" He looked to Regina. "Is it okay if we have it in the backyard of your place?"

"Of course," Regina gave an approving look to the two. "That will always be fine."

"I'm going to go help them pack," Mary Margaret quickly slid from the booth and followed them out.

* * *

As they sat quietly together in the booth, abandoned by the rest of their immediate family, Emma began to stare at Regina.

Finally, Regina asked in an irritated tone, "What?"

"Are you going to be okay?"

"I don't know." Regina sighed heavily. "Up until your first adventure in the Enchanted Forest, I thought Cora was dead. I thought this was all over. I…" she hesitated, not really wanting to tell Emma about all the evil she'd done but realizing the other woman should know, "I ordered Hook to go into Wonderland and kill her. He brought back her body, which I saw just before I enacted the curse." Regina calmly finished her coffee. "I knew she was dead, and now I know she's not. It's… not a pleasant thought for me."

The blonde made a face. "I understand it's kind of common for royalty to take each other out. I mean, in this world, it used to happen a lot during the Middle Ages, so I think I'm going with it was probably not that weird there, either, but why?" She shrugged.

"Love is weakness, and I was about to go into a battle where I could have none," Regina in reply in a quiet voice. "I still loved Mother despite everything, so she had to go."

"I told him he could keep his heart if he took my mother's and brought the body back to me." The older woman's eyes glazed over as she remembered. "He brought back her body. I thought she was dead."

Emma seemed to consider that for a moment. "They clearly faked it somehow."

"Clearly." Regina scowled at herself. "It never occurred to me that he would dare to cross me in that way." She groaned. "My own hubris at work, I suppose."

Emma swallowed down the lump in her throat as she thought over everything she knew of the Queen of Hearts. "Maybe we should find her before she finds us?"

Regina stood from the booth, shaking her head in the negative. "I don't want her to have any clue as to how to get to us. She'll destroy  _everything_ , and you know it." She walked from the diner into the street, leaving the blonde sitting alone.

"Regina!" Emma followed. "Regina! Wait! For God's sake," she ran and caught up, grabbing the brunette by the arm and spinning her around. "She won't win."

"She will." Regina closed her eyes, balling her hands into fists. "She always wins."

Emma pulled her closer, wrapping her arms around the other woman. "Not this time. We'll find her, and we'll make sure she doesn't hurt anyone again."

"You can't kill my mother, Emma," Regina said into the crook of the blonde's neck. "The only person who would be powerful enough at this point is Gold."

Emma held tighter. "We'll figure something out."

 


	21. Chapter 21

The three women sat on the back porch of the mayoral mansion and intently watched as Henry bested his grandfather. Their wooden swords clashed against each other in parries and thrusts as the two males of the small group made their way around the backyard.

Henry used his smaller stature to duck underneath David's arm, and, with the reflexes only a young boy can have, he ran a foot under his opponent's, causing the older man to fall on his stomach. Jumping up quickly, Henry placed a foot in the middle of the small of David's back and touched the tip of his wooden sword to David's neck.

From the porch where they watched, Regina smiled broadly as she gave very polite applause. "Well done, Henry," she called out in a very pleased voice.

Mary Margaret gave a hum of disapproval. "You do realize," she said quietly so the men couldn't hear them, "that Charming let him win."

"Please," Regina rolled her eyes. "Henry won that fairly. He's become very proficient with a sword."

"David is going easy on him," the younger woman countered.

The former queen turned to the woman beside her and quirked her eyebrow. "My son won against your husband, dear. It cannot be helped that my king…"

"We're not in the Enchanted Forest, neither one of you is a queen, and Henry is  _our_ son, Regina." Emma rolled her eyes at the two. "I'm glad you two aren't trying to kill each other, but can we focus on the fact that Henry and David are having fun instead of trying to figure out which kingdom has the better knights?"

"As if there's a question," Regina stated with a flourish of her hands. "Clearly, the answer is obvious."

The blonde narrowed her eyes at the woman beside her. "Regina…"

"Only because you took our best knights!" Mary Margaret's voice went up a touch. "You've always done that. It's so… frustrating. Do you know how hard it is to find a good knight?"

"In fact, I do," The older brunette purred in response, smirking slightly as she shifted to sit a bit straighter in her chair.

"Oh God," Emma groaned. It was clear this was yet another longstanding battle between the women.

In the backyard and away from the quietly polite jabs between to the two former monarchs, David and Henry were again clashing swords.

"I'm going to win again, Gramps!" Henry smiled while dodging an attack. "You're too slow!"

David laughed. "Oh yeah? That last time was a just a fluke." He rolled away from Henry's attack.

Running around the base of the apple tree, Henry pivoted midturn and came back around on the same side he'd just come from, throwing David's attack off. Rolling on the ground to avoid David's swing, Henry came up on the other side of the older man, and David was just barely able to block Henry's swing.

From the porch, both seated more regally than Emma had seen either, Regina and Mary Margaret watched with faces so emotionless they could both pass for marble statues. If not for the connection she had with Regina, Emma would never know the pride she felt for Henry in this moment nor the incredible amount of satisfaction the older woman felt over something that Emma didn't quite understand.

The sound of David grunting in surprise caught Emma's attention again, and she turned to see him on his back with Henry standing over him, sword pointed at his throat. "I told you, Gramps!" He grinned broadly. "I totally won."

Regina tilted her head slightly to the side. "Victory to the House of Mills," she dryly commented.

"Honor to both houses," Mary Margaret replied in the same dry intonation. "After all, we're united now, are we not?"

It was the last set of comments that made everything click into place for Emma, and she wiped a hand over her face at how incredibly annoyed she was that she hadn't seen it before. "Why Mills? Why not Swan?" She sounded far less casual than the other two women.

"Because house names are derived from who enters into whose house, and who in the house is the most powerful of the ruling couple," Regina explained with an air of authority. "I would say that, in this case, you both entered into _my_  house, and you're far less powerful than I am, politically speaking."

"Okay," the blonde drew out the word as she considered this explanation. "So, what? We just had the equivalent of a Medieval entertainment show happen for us or something?"

"Well," Mary Margaret seemed to finally catch on to what they had unintentionally been doing there on the porch. "Emma, you know what they say about old habits." She actually blushed.

"Right." Her daughter rolled her eyes. Turning back to the men, she found Henry standing with sword in hand as he followed David's instruction on proper form. "Our houses are united?" Her voice held no question that she was annoyed with that statement. "What does that even mean?"

Regina finally turned to look at the sheriff. "Do you really need an explanation?"

"Maybe." The blonde shrugged. At the brunette's look of disbelief, she sighed heavily. "Okay, fine. No, I don't, but, still, this is silly. There are no kingdoms anymore."

"There will always be kingdoms," Mary Margaret stated matter-of-factly. "This town is between two worlds, and, so long as we all live, there will always be a hierarchy of royalty. Whether you like it or not, everyone here today is a royal, including you." She ignored the blonde's look of disgust. "There's always a possibility we may go back to our own land one day, and, if we do, then Henry will need to know how to be the prince he's expected to be because, regardless of which house is in power, Henry will eventually take the throne."

"We are, in a very practical sense, determining how well he'll handle his responsibilities." Regina gave an approving nod to Mary Margaret. "These types of games are something we once used to test knights and princes to see how they would do in battle and to see how well they could think on their feet. Henry has time and again proven himself today. He would make a fine prince."

"And a fine king one day, too." The younger brunette said with pride echoing in her voice. "Of course, he still has a lot to learn."

"He who wears the crown carries the heaviest of burdens," Regina added. "As the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming," she turned to again look at Emma, "and, as partner to the Queen, you are also in a unique position."

"I… what?" The young woman blinked. "I'm what?!"

"If we were to ever go back," Regina calmly explained, "your duties would be sealed just as much as Henry's. Emma, you  _are_  a princess, and, if you and I continue as we are likely to do, you would  _be_ a queen in your own right."

"This is insane." The sheriff shook her head. "We're not going back there. No way. Never again. I need running water, electricity, cars, and the internet."

Mary Margaret scowled. "But, Emma, it's your birthright."

"That is true." Regina agreed with a nod.

Emma scoffed at them both. "Keep it. I'll stay here where's there's central air and football."

* * *

"Rumple, did you hear what happened at the diner today?" Belle settled on a stool next to the old shop keeper.

"That the Sheriff seems to have figured out how to keep herself under control?" At her nod, he smirked. "See? She didn't need a ring for that."

"No, I guess she didn't." The young woman pursed her lips in thought for a moment. "Did you hear what else happened at the diner?"

He quirked an eyebrow. "There's more?"

"Yes." She lifted her eyebrows and narrowed her eyes at him. "Ruby told me that Regina stormed out and Emma took off after her after everything seemed to settle down."

"Is that so?" Gold turned back to the items he was straightening in his display case. "Lover's quarrel?"

Her voice dropped down a note, and her face became deadly serious. "No. Ruby tells me that Mary Margaret told her family that you agreed to help Emma control her darkness for a price."

At this new bit of information, Gold paused in his work but didn't look at her. She pressed on. "She says that you told Mary Margaret that you would give them something to control Emma's darkness if they would find a way to contact Regina's mother for you." The anger was evident in her voice.

"You can't believe everything you hear, Belle." He went back to straightening his case. "That's all hearsay."

"You know as well as I do that Ruby would have no problem hearing that conversation." She stood, pushing on his shoulder until he faced her. "You promised! You promised me you wouldn't interfere and you won't make it worse. You told me that putting that ring on Emma would be dangerous. You lied to me." She threw her hands up in frustration. "I can't believe you'd do this."

"Belle, you don't understand…"

"Cora? We all know how dangerous she is. Why would you want to bring her back here? Nothing good could come of that. Why, Rumple?" She was yelling now, and tears threatened to fall. "You told me you didn't want this town destroyed. You told me you wanted to keep it safe, and now you want to bring  _Cora_  here? What are you thinking? What could she possibly…"

"She can help me find my son." He broke into her rant, matching her volume.

"Your son?" She shook her head. "What are you talking about?"

"I have a son," he explained, face full of conflicting emotions. "He's here, in this world, somewhere, and I have to find him, but I can't do it alone. This curse," he glanced away with pain in his eyes, "I wasn't prepared for it to prevent me from being able to cross the town line. I need to find a way to break the spell so I can cross that border and find my son. I need someone who is powerful enough to make that happen."

"And you think that person is Cora?" Belle stared at him as if all the answers to all her unspoken questions would suddenly burst forth from him. "What would you give her in return for her help?"

He grunted at the question. "Belle, there are some things…"

"What, Rumple?" She glared at him. "Tell me."

"I… I would have made a deal with her, of course." He gave a shrug. "What else?"

"What kind of deal?"

"Well… I'm certain she would have…"

"You already know, don't you? It's what you do, isn't it?" She crossed her arms and squared her shoulders. "What does she want that you could give her? What kind of deal were you willing to make?"

Narrowing his eyes at her, he finally pushed back as his anger and his ego took over. "Whatever deal it takes. This curse was enacted so that I could find my son, and that's exactly what I'm going to do, regardless of the cost, even if that means finding Cora to do it."

"That's insane. How do you even know she's alive?"

"I know." He tapped his temple with his finger. "In case you've forgotten, I have the power of a seer. I know she's alive, and I know should could help me."

She allowed that information to sink in. "And you know what she wants." There was no question. She knew he knew.

"Yes." He let a small growl escape the back of his throat. "I know what she wants."

"What?"

"Not a what, dearie." He gave her a slimy smile. "A who."

"You can't play with people's lives like this." She closed her eyes against her anger and disgust.

"Of course I can." Though he smiled, his voice was dark and dangerous. "It's what I do."

"Who then?" She slowly opened her eyes, determined to have him look her in the eye.

He easily complied. "Regina."

"Rumple, you can't do that." She was torn between running and trying to talk sense into him. "Regina isn't a pawn to be used in your little games. She's a person."

"She's my monster," he snapped back. " _I_ trained her.  _I_ got her to where she is today.  _I_ created her for my purposes, and, right now," he stepped up closer to the petite woman, "she  _will_  do whatever it is I want her to do, even if that means going back under Cora's control."

"And how will you make her?"

He grabbed Belle by the arm, "How will she stop me?"

"I won't let you do this." She tried to struggle away. "You can't do this. This town is finally settling down. There are other ways, Rumple. There are many magic users in this town. Surely all of them combined together could help you find a way to break the spell?" Her voice started to sound pleading as she tried to twist out of his grip.

He laughed at her. "They're not going to help  _me_. Please, just look at how well received Regina has been in her quest to be accepted as the Savior's lover. These people are going to be even less accommodating of me." He pulled her a bit closer, using his height as an intimidation tactic. "No, I have to find my own resources."

"Well, you can do it without me." Kicking his shin and then turning around to elbow him in the side with her free arm, Belle managed to break free. She hopped the counter and was out the door before he could recover from the unexpected pain she'd inflicted, and she never looked back as she made her way to the former mayor's home.

 


	22. Chapter 22

"I'm very proud of you, Henry." Regina practically radiated her approval of her son. "You did well with sword practice today."

"Thanks!" His grinned matched hers. "I had fun. Gramps says that tomorrow we're going to have a horse riding lesson."

"Is that so?" She looked up to David, who shifted uncomfortably in his chair in the dining room. He picked at the food on his plate as he answered in an awkward tone, "Yeah, I thought it might be time."

She raised one perfectly manicured eyebrow at him. "Well, Henry  _is_  getting close to the right age to truly learn." She looked over to Mary Margaret. "He's nearly 12, and, though not all of us are meant to start riding at that age," the younger brunette shot her an angry look but didn't rise to the bait. Regina gave a self-satisfied smirk and turned back to David, "I believe Henry could handle it. However, I don't want  _you_  teaching him."

"Regina," Emma frowned at her. "I thought we were moving passed all of this."

"We are, dear, but David isn't half as good of a rider as I am." She picked up her water glass and took a casual sip. "I should be the one to teach our son."

David huffed at the thought. "Regina, that's nice of you to offer, but…"

"It's a great idea." Mary Margaret cut in, surprising them all. "Regina is the best rider I've ever known." She shrugged at the shocked faces staring at her from around the table. "She's gifted in riding. It makes sense she'd teach Henry."

"Thank you," Regina gave a tip of her head. "Henry," she looked to her son, "how would you like that?"

"I didn't know you could ride," he said in a thoughtful tone. "I mean, I saw the stories in my book but," she pursed his lips in thought, "I guess it makes sense that you'd be good at it. So you'd really teach me?"

"Yes, of course." She nodded at him, a gentle look playing on his features. "But be warned. Riding isn't a game. It's physically demanding, and it takes a lot of work and practice. Are you prepared for that?"

Henry nodded seriously. "I can do it."

"Regina, do you still ride?" Emma cocked her head to the side in thought. "I can't ever remember you being at the stables."

"I," the older woman hesitated. "I haven't ridden since the curse broke," she admitted with a frown.

"Oh," the blonde shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "Well, it'll be good that you're going back then…" she trailed off and the room filled with an awkward silence which was quickly broken by a pounding on the front door.

Waving for the rest to stay where they were, Regina gracefully stood and walked to the front, trying not to be annoyed at the sound of multiple footsteps following behind her.

As she opened the door, a frazzled looking Belle rushed in past her and into the entryway, gasping for breath. "Good," she said between gasps, "you're all here. I have to tell you what Rumple is planning."

* * *

"You know, this would be easier if we just found his dagger and killed him." Emma crossed her arms and leaned back on the sofa in the mansion's study.

"Emma! That's not how we do things, and you know it." Mary Margaret gave her daughter a hard look. "That's the darkness talking."

"No," the younger woman replied in a measured yet annoyed tone, "that's practicality talking. He's a menace that has proven over, literally, hundreds of years that he'll do  _anything_  to get what he wants. I mean  _anything_." She made a 'come on' gesture with her hands. "He spent over a hundred years planning every detail so that events would line up in order to create a monster," she glanced to Regina and mumbled under her breath, "No offense."

"None taken," the former queen replied dryly.

The blonde winced but continued, "so her could have a curse enacted that would lead him to a world that he thinks has his son." She threw her hands up in frustration. " _His son?_  Who the fu…" she saw Henry shift out of the corner of her eye and quickly changed her wording, " _freak_  even knew he had a son? No one. No one knew, not even is 'true love." She turned to Belle. "Are you even his true love?"

"I honestly don't know anymore," Belle took another sip of cider. "I'm starting to wonder."

"He's a ticking time bomb, and, honestly, it would be safer for everyone here if he weren't around anymore to keep manipulating  _all_  of us, and  _he is_  manipulating all of us. None of us in this room would be here had  _he_  not made sure that it happened." Emma gave an exasperated sigh. "So, no Mary Margaret, this isn't my 'darkness' talking. This is my practical side talking, the side that has managed to survive on my one for 20 some-odd years. There comes a time," she leaned forward, eyes determined as she started down her mother, "that it becomes them of us. This isn't about good versus evil or right versus wrong anymore. This is about survival. He's trying to take down my family." She slowly shook her head from side to side. "That's not going to happen."

"There's got to be another way," the pixie haired brunette protested. "Everyone deserves a second chance."

"That imp," Regina spat back, "has had  _multiple_  chances, and he's never changed. Each 'new chance' is just another opportunity for him to rest things so that his plans can be better suited for whatever his endgame is. Emma's right," she reached over and placed a hand on the sheriff's thigh, "it's time. He needs to be done away with once and for all."

"And who, exactly, is going to be the one to kill him and become the new Dark One?" David's voice boomed into the space. "You, Regina? There's no way we'd let that happen."

"I don't want it!" The older woman rolled her eyes. "And you don't have to kill the Dark One with his own dagger to take the bast…" again Henry shifted on the floor where he sat between his two mothers. She huffed and changed her language. "His dagger isn't the only way to kill him."

"You really expect us to believe that?" Mary Margaret's tone left little doubt that she believed a word she'd just been told.

"No, of course not. I don't expect you to believe me at all, but that is the truth, and, like Emma, I'm not going to sit around and allow him another chance to hurt me or my family. Enough is enough." Regina 's posture straightened even more as she began to explain what she knew. "I've had 28 years to do research and come up with contingency plans should the curse ever break and Gold manage to somehow get his powers back. The library is full of useful material for the purpose." She gave a nod to Belle who returned it. "The myth is that the Dark One is immortal unless killed by his dagger, but that's all it is. In truth, he may be killed with poison."

"If that were true, you'd have already poisoned him." David narrowed his eyes at her.

"The trick is to find a poison for which he doesn't have a cure and which he can't detect, and there aren't many out there with those criteria." Regina turned to Belle. "I realize magic is not your forte, dear, but you do have a vast knowledge of reference materials held in the library. Is there, by chance, anything there that speaks of Neverland and, more specifically, Captain Hook?"

Belle thought for a time and finally nodded. "Yes, there are a few."

"Captain Hook?" Emma rolled her eyes. "Seriously?"

"The pirate has served a few useful purposes over the years," Regina gave her haughty look.

The blonde groaned. "I don't think I want to know."

" _Why_  do you want to know?" Belle couldn't help but smile at the sheriff.

"Killian's hook is coated in a poison that he created. There's no known antidote."

"That's so cool!" Henry startled them all. He'd been so quiet they had forgotten he was in the room. "So that means there's really a Peter Pan, right?"

"Yes, but," Regina's voice grew gravely serious, "Peter Pan is not the beloved Disney character you know. He's a dangerous magical entity. Frankly," she shifted in her seat, "he scares me."

" _He_ scares  _you_?" The little boy sounded confused. "But you're the Evil Queen. How could anyone scare you?"

Before Emma could correct him, Regina answered smoothly, "And think on that, Henry. If there is something out there that scares even me, then it must be something very dangerous, don't you think?"

He seemed to consider it. "Yeah…"

"So, if a shadow comes to your window at night and wants in," she looked her son directly in the eye and her voice was deadly serious, " _do not_  let it in."

"Okay," he said in all seriousness, the wonder of the new information he'd just learned leaving him, "I won't."

"Good." She turned to address the group again. "Killian's poison can take down Gold, but we'll have to get it or make it."

David ran a hand over his chin in thought. "How would you do that?"

"Well, I'm not going to Neverland to try to locate Killian's stash, and I'm not going to Hook himself to obtain it from the source. That is completely out of the question, and, considering the fact the pirate lied to me the last time I saw him, I'd just as soon rip his heart out than ask favors of him, seeing him in person is likely a bad idea anyway." Regina looked at Belle again. "However, there might be something in your books that can help me figure out what he uses in his poison."

"Are we really doing this?" Mary Margaret looked into the eyes of the assembled party. "Are we really, seriously considering taking someone's life? Belle, this is your true love we're talking about. Don't you want to at least try to save him? Isn't there something else we can do? Maybe we can talk to Blue? We might be able to trap him like we did the last time."

Belle took in a deep breath and let it out with a harsh blow. "I want to see the good in everyone," she began in an unsteady voice, "but maybe it  _is_  time to accept that some people really can't change." She gave Mary Margaret an almost apologetic look. "He's going to destroy the entire town if we don't do something, and I can't live with myself knowing that I just let it happen if we can prevent it."

The other woman closed her eyes and tried to reconcile what was happening in this meeting. "But to kill him?"

"We were going to kill Regina," David said in a matter-of-fact tone and then turned to see his grandson make a horrified face. He quickly tried to explain. "You have to understand," he started in a pleading voice to the young boy, "Regina had tried to destroy our kingdom and kill us multiple times. She was dangerous, and we'd given her a lot of chances to simply walk away. She wouldn't, so the council decided that the only way to protect the kingdom was to … well, it seemed the best option was…"

"To kill me, and they were correct in thinking so," Regina finished for him. Her tone was much less apologetic. "I  _was_  a menace. At the time, I was verging on certifiable, to be perfectly honest. I would argue the same about the imp, though I do believe he fell off the edge a very long time ago. When your grandparents finally decided to put me in front of the archers, it was their best hope of preserving their kingdom. They had to do was right in order to protect their people, and, at the last moment, Snow changed her mind. She didn't allow them to kill me. You see where that ended." She glanced around them and then back to Mary Margaret. "Shall we repeat that mistake?"

For a time, no one spoke as they considered their history and their options.

"If someone goes with me, I can pull all the books I have in the library on Neverland," Belle offered in a quiet voice, breaking the heavy silence in the room.

Regina stood and looked to David. "Charming and I will go with you. You'll need a magic user and someone who can effectively wield a sword, just in case."

"Hey, wait a minute," Emma stood, protesting, "I can do both."

"Which is why you need to stay here with Sno.. Mary Margaret and Henry. They'll need protection, too. Go fetch your sword while we wait." Regina placed a hand on Emma's face and gave her tender look. "I'm sorry."

The apology seemed out of place to the others gathered, but Emma seemed to understand. "It's okay. We do what we have to in order to protect our family, right?" She leaned forward and gave the other woman a gently kiss. "Besides, it's not like I won't know what you're up to while you're away." With the flat of her hand, she tapped Regina's chest, over her heart. "I'll know."

"Go." Regina gave a regretful sigh. "We have much to do and little time in which to do it."

Nodding, Emma stepped away to go upstairs and the rest began to prepare.

 


	23. Chapter 23

"Looking for something?" Gold stood at one end of the library table, hands resting on his cane and a look that might have been cordial had the situation not been so dangerous. "Perhaps I can help you find it?"

"Gold." David stepped in front of the women and pulled his sword. "We don't want any trouble."

"Oh, I highly doubt that, dearie." The older man's eyes swung from the prince to Belle. "I suppose I should assume you've given away my plans?"

"You know I couldn't let you do this, Rumple." She stood firm despite the fear in her eyes. "It's wrong, and you know it. There are other ways to…"

"We've already had this conversation, Belle. Let's not repeat it." Turning his attention to Regina, he tilted his head. "Your Majesty."

Straightening to her full height and squaring her shoulders, Regina gave him hostile look. "Of all the people to bring here, you want to bring in Cora? What happened to wanting to prevent just that? I thought we were in agreement on this, Gold?"

"We were," he gave a small shrug, "until we weren't. Cora has something I need, and I have access to something she wants." He leered at the former queen. "Very much."

"I'm not a thing to be passed around as currency," Regina snapped back. "And I  _will not_  allow you to bring Cora into our world and put this town and Henry and Emma's life in danger."

Gold's eyebrows rose and he tilted his head. "Is that so? And who is going to stop me? You and you merry little band of misfit family members?" He scoffed at the very notion. "I came here as a curtsey to give you a chance to make things simple for everyone." When no one replied, he continued on, not bothered by their growing anger and hostility. "It's very simple, really. Regina comes with me of her own free will, and I make sure the town and everyone else in it is spared when Cora comes."

"No." David's voice was firm, and it took Regina by surprised, who turned to look at him to see if what she'd heard was correct. "We're not making deals with you, Gold, and we're not sacrificing Regina so you can bring over Cora."

"Well, well, well," Gold quirked his head. "It looks like the family has made amends. Pity." He glanced to the members in the group, making certain they understood his next words. "It would have been far easier on you had you decided to hand the witch over. This was your only chance, Prince."

Before David could respond, Gold was gone in a wisp of purple smoke. "We need to get the books and get moving." He turned to look at Belle, who nodded and headed quickly into the stacks. "Regina," he faced her, and was taken aback by the absolutely stunned look on her face. "Are you okay?"

"I… yes, I'm fine. I just," she blinked a few times, trying to focus on his face. "That deal… I would have done it."

"Given yourself up to Gold?" David places his free hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze. "I know, but you should know by now that I would never allow that." He smiled at her. "Emma would have killed me if I'd let her true love be taken away like that. Can you imagine? She'd tear down Heaven and Hell to get you back."

Regina simply looked at him, still stunned.

He leaned forward, raising his eyebrows and giving a little. "As she should."

They took a moment to observe each other before she seemed to compose herself again. "Thank you."

"None needed." He stepped back and looked to see Belle returning with a stack of books in hand. "You're family, be that stepmother-in-law or daughter-in-law." He made an odd face. "Our family tree…"

"Yes, I know." She matched his face with one of her own. "Belle, is that everything?"

"Yes," the younger woman grunted with the effort of carrying the thick volumes. "A little help?"

Taking half the stack, Regina turned to the door. "We should get moving before Rumple makes his next move. It's safer for us all to be in one place, and it will be quicker to go through these with more eyes helping."

* * *

"This is it." Emma held up a book. "I think." She handed it over to Regina, who was lying on the opposite end of the sofa in the study reading her own book.

"This is a portion of it." Adjusting her reading glasses, Regina skimmed over the portion that held information on Hook's poison. "It's missing a few things, but this might be enough."

David let his book fall to his lap. "How can we be sure this will work?"

Regina shrugged. "We can't, but it better than nothing."

From the corner of the room, Belle made a sound in the back of her throat. "I wish there was another way."

"So do I." Frown deeply embedded on her face, Mary Margaret looked around at the assembled group. "I still don't like this."

"We're well aware, but this isn't something that's up for debate." Regina waved a hand over the sleeping form on the floor beside the sofa. "Henry's life and the welfare of this town are at stake."

"How long will it take to make the poison?" Emma pulled everyone back on target, shooting her mother a warning look.

"Not long," Regina looked over the passage in the book again. "About two hours, assuming I have everything."

The blonde nodded. "Do you?"

With a nod, Regina stood and carefully stepped over Henry. "We need to get to my family mausoleum."

"Why?" Belle shook her head. "What's there?"

"Her lair," Emma answered half-jokingly as she began to follow Regina's directions.

* * *

"She wasn't kidding when she said you have a lair," Belle looked around at the walls filled with shelves of items and then to the bench laid out with various ingredients, beakers, and burners. "This is… I don't know what."

"I thought it was kind of cool the first time I saw it," Emma offered with a shrug.

"I thought it wasn't surprising," Mary Margaret added. "David and I talked about it later, and we realized that it actually made a lot of sense that she'd have something like this."

"You know," Henry said and then yawned before he could stop himself, "You're right, Ma. It  _is_  kind of cool."

"If all of you are done discussing my personal affairs?" Regina rolled her eyes and turned back to the brew she'd been meticulously working on. "I believe I have a final product."

"Well, I guess that just leaves one question." Emma stood from her spot on the floor and dusted off her pants. "How long until we give it a try?"

"A few hours," Regina smoothly answered. "We all need to try to get some sleep." She carefully set the poison aside and moved to mirror. Waving her hand, the wall moved, revealing another chamber. "It's safe here. Part of the deal when making the curse and enacting was having a safe place Gold here in Storybrooke that he couldn't reach me." She motioned around. "Hence my 'lair." She motioned form them to move into the other room. "We can all find spots to sleep in here for the rest of the night. It's not the most comfortable of sleeping arrangements, but I feel it will do."

Henry entered first and looked around at the stark black and white room with the decorative faux apple tree in the center, white furniture scatter throughout, and ornate clothing lining the walls. His eyes stopped on one in particular. "I recognize this from my book." He walked up to it and stared at the long, black top with matching corset and leather pants. "This is what you wore when you crashed Snow White and Prince Charming's wedding, isn't it?"

As the others filed into the room, they stood away from the mother and son, watching to see how Regina would handle this situation. "Yes," she answered without inflection.

Henry tilted his head in thought, eyes going over every detail of the outfit before turning to a different one. "I recognize that one, too." He moved toward the black dress with the high collar and extremely detailed silver outline. "It's what you wore to the King's funeral." He turned to Regina, who was a few steps away from him. "Right?"

Face completely devoid of emotion, she stood and watching, answering in a monotone, "Yes."

The boy didn't seem to notice the shift in mood as he toured the parameter of the room. He stopped at yet another outfit, this one with yet another high collar and deeply purple with ornate black lace designs. "And this is the one you wore when you gave Snow the apple." He was completely lost to his thoughts and memories of the stories in his book.

"This one is the one you wore during the battle where they trapped you with fairy dust." He pointed at the armor, gleaming in the harsh light filling the room. "That one," he quickly moved across the room, "is the one you wore when you talked King George into releasing the prince." The adults watched as he fluttered around the room from outfit to outfit, essentially going over their history with each comment.

At one outfit, he paused. It was a pale blue riding jacket with tan riding pants. He tilted his head and thought over it for a long time. "I don't recognize this one." He turned to his mother. "Where is it from?"

"It's the outfit she was wearing the day she saved me from a runaway horse." Mary Margret swallowed down a lump in her throat. "I was only slightly younger than you are now. My father and I were to go for a ride, but, once I was on my horse, something scared it, and it galloped away and out of my control. Regina saved me." She looked at the other woman. "She could have gotten hurt or worse, but she saved me anyway."

"It was also the very last time I saw Daniel alone before we tried to leave to be married," Regina added in a tone laced with hurt and anger.

Henry looked between the two, clearly confused. "You saved Snow White?"

"Yes." Regina took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "And you know who Daniel is."

The boy seemed to think about it for a moment. "What happened to him?"

"Kid, this isn't really the time to…"

"No," Regina cut Emma off from trying to stop this conversation. "He should know." Walking toward the light blue riding outfit, she reached out and ran a finger across the material. "Daniel and I were going to run away and be married, but we knew my mother would never approve. We were in the stables one night, and Snow caught us. I pleaded with her to keep it a secret. She swore she'd keep my secret."

"But Cora tricked me." Mary Margret's voice was tired. "And, honestly, I was afraid of losing Regina. She was beautiful and kind, and I instantly loved her the moment I saw her. My father had told me he wanted to marry her, and that would make her my mother. I had lost my own, and Regina reminded me so much of her," she shook her head. "One night, I was alone with Cora, and she managed to get me to tell her what Daniel and Regina's plans were. I was young, and she played on my want to please and my desire to have a mother again."

"She found us in the stables," Regina picked up the story again. "Daniel and I were just about to leave, and she appeared. For the briefest of moments, I thought she might actually allow it, but I was wrong." She turned away from the outfit and began to slowly walk back across the room to a different outfit as she continued to talk, not looking and not wanting to look at Henry. "My mother pulled Daniel's heart out of his chest and crushed it right before my eyes."

Her voice became darker. "I was absolutely beside myself." She stopped at the outfit in her sights, stepped beside it and turned back around. "Love is weakness, my mother told me. She hadn't gone through all of what she had just for me to be the wife of a common peasant. Love is fleeting, but power lasts forever, and, by killing Daniel, she assured me, she was doing the best possible thing for me."

"Your mother killed your first love?" Henry seemed to be slowly processing this new information.

Regina's jaw flexed. "Yes."

"Because," he turned to his grandmother, "you didn't keep a secret?"

Giving him a look full of guilt and sadness, Mary Margret nodded, answering quietly, "Yes."

"So," Henry slowly walked to where Regina stood next to the long, flowing black dress with swirls of black suede running through an almost see see-through material. "The Evil Queen wasn't trying to kill Snow White because she thought Snow was the fairest in the land." It was a statement. He was fitting puzzle pieces together. "She was trying to kill Snow White because Snow was the reason the Evil Queen's first love died." He stared at the dress and then looked to Regina. "You couldn't kill Snow White, so you cast the curse?"

Regina turned her head to look at the dress she'd worn the very day the curse had been cast, letting her eyes roam over it for a moment. "I cast it because I thought it would finally make me happy. I thought it would be my way to finally win." She looked around the room to the faces quietly watching the scene unfold. "I was wrong. Living in a town where I lived, essentially, the same day every day for 18 years with people who mindless did exactly what I wanted them to do was my own personal version of Hell."

She squatted down to be eyelevel with Henry. "One of the reasons I adopted you. You were outside of the curse, a person I could love who could love me without being forced, and you did," she sighed, "for a while."

Henry frowned, looking down at the ground. "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for." She reached out and placed a reassuring hand on his cheek. "I've never regretted adopting you, not for a moment. I love you with all of my heart.  _You_  are the very best thing to come out of everything that has happened because of the events you've just been told. Never doubt for even a second that you're loved, Henry."

She pulled him into a hug. "I think it's time we all got some sleep, don't you?" Within her embrace, she could feel him nod yes. Standing up, she once again looked across at the small group. "The past is done and over with. What matters right now is our future. We should all try to sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a very trying day."

As the group spread out among the floor and furniture, Regina brought out blankets and pillows. Mary Margret and David took a corner of the room, Belle a sofa, and Emma settled against the wall in another corner of the room. Regina patiently waited to see where Henry would go.

"I want to sleep with you and Ma," he said in sleepy voice. "Is that okay?"

"Yes," she gave him a small smile. "That is perfectly fine." Ushering him over to the blonde, she waited until he had settled against Emma before she took her place on the other side of him, sandwiching him between them. Kissing his head, she murmured a good night as she flicked her hand and plunged them all into darnkness.


	24. Chapter 24

"Henry, please stay here." Emma squatted down to be eye level with her son. "I promise we'll come get you when this is over, and Regina is setting up the mirror so you can watch, but  _please_  don't leave this room until we come get you. Okay?"

The young boy scowled. "But I can help. I'm good with a sword now. What if…"

"No, Henry, your mother's right. You need to stay here where you're safe." Mary Margret looked to her husband for back up.

David crossed his arms and nodded. "Your mother can put additional protection spells around this room. It's the best place for you to be."

"Henry," Regina joined Emma to be eye level with their son, "we won't be effective in our battle if we're all concerned for your safety. I know you feel you can take care of yourself, and, in some regards, this is true." She placed a hand on his arm and gave it squeeze. "Just this once, we're all asking you to stay here. It's not just for you, it's for us."

With sad, frustrated eyes, Henry looked from his family to Belle for help. She shrugged. "They're right," she said in a sympathetic tone. "It's safer for you here."

"Okay." Dropping his head and slouching his shoulders, Henry gave a nod of consent. "I'll stay."

"Thanks, kid."

"Thank you, Henry."

Both mothers gave him a kiss on the cheek before standing up and turning the group. "Shall we?" Regina waved a hand toward the hidden door, and they all exited in a quiet line of contemplative and anxious people heading for battle.

* * *

"Well, well, I thought I might have to come looking for you." Gold gave a mockingly friendly tilt of his head. "It's it good of you to come find me instead? It saves time."

"We're here to end this, Gold." Charming, sword drawn, stood in front of Gold's shop with the rest of the small group lined up to block his entrance. "No more games."

"Pity," the older man said in a cordial voice, "I do  _so_  enjoy a game or two." His eyes ran from David Nolan, who stood at point, to the group of three women lined up behind him and front of the shop door. "Really, Regina, I thought better of you than to align yourself so completely with the Charmings."

"Don't speak to me," she snarled back, raising her hand to produce a fireball for effect.

"I see no one here wants to have a friend chat." Gold sounded almost disappoint. His gaze shifted from Regina to Mary Margret and Emma. "Are you sure you really want to die for the woman who separated you for 28 years?"

Gleaming black sword in hand at her side, Emma stood straighter against his verbal attack. "That's not going to get you very far, Gold. She's my true love."

"Right." He gave a cynical chuckle. "True love trumps all, does it?" He looked to the pixie haired brunette next to her. "Of course it does."

Regina rolled her eyes. "Can we just get this over with?"

Gold shrugged. "If you insist." Raising his hand, he began to motion for an attack spell when a voice behind him stopped him mid-motion.

"Rumple, it's not too late to stop this from going any further." Belle's voice pleaded with him.

He turned around, dropping his arm to the side, and narrowing his eyes at her. "It's nice of you to show back up. Are you still working with these people?" He nodded his head back to indicate the group now behind him.

"I'm trying to get you to see reason." The young woman's arms were wrapped around herself, as if she needed for the world to be hugged and reassured that this wasn't happening. She sounded tired and dejected. "Please? We can find a way to break the barrier without all of this. I know we can."

"Don't you think I've tried?" He snapped at her, growling in the back of his throat. "If there was a way, I would have found it by now. There  _is_  no other way. I need Cora here to help me, and she will once I provide her with Regina."

Belle stepped into his personal space. Looking up into his face, her eyes seemed to search for something. "Have you asked for help? Have you checked with the other magic users? Rumple, you know what will happen if Cora makes it to Storybrooke. How can you let that happen?"

"What she does after she helps me find my son is of no concern to me." He glared down at her. "This town and the people in it are of little consequence."

"You really don't care, do you?" She sounded broken.

He replied back with hostility lacing his words, "Why should I?"

It all happened so quickly he didn't know what was happening until it was over. David Nolan called his name, causing him to turn back toward the group. Mary Margret shot an arrow at him, which Regina set on fire in mid-air. As he blocked the flaming arrow aimed at his face, Emma shot a bolt of magic from her blade, which threw him off kilter enough for him to completely miss what Belle was doing behind him.

He never saw her pull the dagger from her belt, and it was only when the blade was hilt deep in his side did he realize the forward attack had been a distraction.

"What?" He whirled around to see a mortified Belle staring at him with large, frightened eyes. "I'll… I'll…" Realizing something was amiss, he pulled the dagger from his side. His eyes grew when the wound didn't close up. Holding the blade up, he stared at it. "What have you done, Belle?" His voice was already weaker.

"Something awful," she replied in a distraught voice.

"The blade is poisoned," Regina helpfully explained, "curtsey of Killian Jones, or, rather, his own special brand of poison."

Gold's eyes widened in disbelief. "No." Already, his breathing was becoming labored as the poison rushed through his bloodstream.

"It's over." Regina stepped closer as he fell to the ground. "You've lost," she bent over and whispered in his ear, "dearie."

* * *

**I owe you a prologue. Maybe tomorrow…**


	25. Chapter 25

**Epilogue**

The breeze felt lovely against their warmed faces as Regina, Emma, and Henry settled down onto the brilliant blue picnic blanket spread out in the city park beneath one of the larger trees. The laughed and played as Regina spread out the lunch they had packed earlier, and she smiled as she watched her true love and their son banter back and forth.

"After lunch," she said in a light voice, "would you like to play a board game?"

Henry's eyes lit up, and his smile was radiant. "Yes! What are we going to play?"

She grinned at his excitement, remembering when this used to be a normal occurrence for them. Perhaps it would turn into one again? "I brought Uno and a pack of regular playing cards. Which would you prefer?"

"Uno." He glanced to his other mother, grin turning mischievous. "I'm totally going to beat you."

Emma's laugh made Regina shiver, and the blonde felt the warm feeling her counterpart was experiencing through their connection. She glanced to Regina with soft eyes and reached over to place a hand on the other woman's arm giving it a squeeze. "Me, too."

"I hate it when you two do that," Henry pouted. "It's weird."

"Get used to it, kid. We're going to do it forever." Emma moved her hand to ruffle her son's hair. "One of these days, when you find your person, you'll be jealous you're not as close as me and your mom. Watch."

"You  _did not_  just use  _that_ line." Regina scoffed but could hold back the chuckle. Shaking her head, she handed out the food. "Henry, why are you looking at me like that?"

"I just realized that you're happy," he said with wonder lacing his words. "I'm glad."

Emma and Regina both stopped what they were doing and looked at each other, eyes wide with surprise. It was the blonde who broke the stunned silence when she leaned over and placed a soft kiss on Regina's lips. "I'm glad, too. You deserve it."

"I," the brunette looked from the woman before her to their son and then back again. She stuttered as she looked for the right words. "I… love you both. You make me very happy." She smiled, her face lighting up. "I'm not sure much more could make things better, honestly."

"You mean I could be doing more to make you happier?" The younger woman sat up and gave her best mock serious face. "Well? Spit it out! We can't have you not 100% happy. Right, Henry?"

The boy nodded, giving a very enthusiastic, "Right!"

Regina rolled her eyes as she chuckled at them. "Well," she fell into a serious expression as she considered if she really wanted to say what was honestly on her mind. She could tell Emma felt her hesitation, and she was grateful the other woman wasn't pushing. Seeming to pull courage from somewhere she didn't know she had, Regina admitted almost sheepishly, "We could be married, and," she could feel the blush crawling up her neck. She gave Henry an almost apologetic look before looking down at the blanket. "We could have a little brother or sister for Henry to play with."

Emma's shock blasted through their connection, almost knocking Regina over. Henry, for his part, practically vibrated with excitement. "You two are going to get married? This is awesome! And then I could be a big brother? That's… that's great! When is it going to happen? When do we get to start planning? Do I get to be best man? Where are we going to have it?"

"Henry," Emma settled him down with a look. "I haven't said yes yet."

Their son blinked in confusion.

"It's all the same," Regina replied almost demurely. "I haven't actually asked yet."

Henry completely deflated. "But… but… you two  _want_  to get married, don't you?"

"There was a time when I thought I'd never marry again," Regina answered honestly. Finally looking up, she caught Emma's eyes with her own. "But, after living together as a family for these past few months, I realize that my feelings on the matter have changed."

Emma tilted her head to the side in thought. "Have they?"

"Yes," the brunette nodded sincerely. "What do you think, dear? Would you like to give it a try?" She smiled hopefully. "Marry me?"

Leaning toward Regina again, Emma replied in a soft voice, "Yes," before kissing her deeply.

"Yes!" Henry jumped up and did a little happy dance, breaking the moment. He gave a little whoop of excitement.

Regina laughed. "He gets that from you."

"Yeah, I know," Emma nodded her approval. "I'd be doing the same thing right now, but I'd hate to sleep in the guest room tonight."

Regina hummed her approval. "Smart woman."

Henry stopped dancing and plopped back down with a serious look on his face. "You two need rings, and we need to figure out how big the wedding will be so we know where to have, and we have to find things to wear, and…"

"He gets  _that_  from you," Emma said with a sigh, cutting into Henry's thoughts. "Who needs a wedding planner when we have our son?"

"And your mother." Regina shook her head. "It's going to be a long few upcoming months."

"Is Belle going to be your Maid of Honor, Mom?" Henry was already planning, his mind racing with all kinds of different things. "If she is, does that mean that Ma's Best Man would be Ruby instead of me?"

"I don't know, Henry. I'll have to ask her and see what she says." Regina pointed to his sandwich. "Eat."

"Just because Belle and Ruby are an item doesn't automatically change who my Best Man would be, kid." The blonde huff. "Wait a minute, why do  _I_ get a Best Man? Why can't I have a Maid of Honor and your mom have a Best Man?"

"Oh, come on, Ma, Really?" He rolled his eyes while Regina chuckled. "You're totally going to wear a suit."

"Maybe," she answered with a fake pout on her lips. "But I can  _not_  appreciate the stereotype."

"Whatever, Ma." Their son's smile continued to beam. "This is going to be awesome."

"I agree," Regina said with a nod of her head. "It  _is_  going to be awesome."

Emma raised an eyebrow at her. "What is?"

Looking out over the park with its scattering of people playing and enjoying the day, Regina took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Things were better. The threats to her family were gone, for now. She and the Charmings had finally settled their differences to the point of being cordial to each other. Her son was living with her again, and now she had Emma. It wasn't how she pictured her moment of win, but, if she were honest with herself, this was far better than anything she could have come up with on her own.

Smiling back at Emma with eyes shining with unshed tears, she answered honestly, "Everything."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading all of this. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to finish it. I am currently working on a new OUaT Swan/Queen piece with a writing partner. We'll be posting our first chapters soon. It's pretty fun. I'm writing the story from Regina's perspective. She's writing hers from Emma's. Anyway, thanks again for your support and attention. Reviews are always appreciated!


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